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SOUTH PASADENA
Submitted photo
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PASADENA
• NEWS •
Pasadena recently implemented a City Prosecutor Community Mediation Program.
Pasadena officials unveil mediation program
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Joseph Campanella becomes new head of High Point Academy on July 1.
Campanella to head High Point Academy
By Luke Netzley Pasadena Weekly Deputy Editor
he city of Pasadena will implement a City Prosecutor Community Mediation Program designed to help tackle community disputes, including conflicts between landlords and tenants, employers and employees, merchants and consumers, and neighbors as well as issues related to business, school, family and homelessness. “We’ve noticed an uptick in community disputes going on here in Pasadena, with some of those disputes eventually rising to the level of police and court involvement,” Chief Assistant City Prosecutor Michael Dowd said. “We decided to see if there was a way in which we could interact with the community to be able to keep these types of matters from escalating to where the police and courts end up getting involved, either criminally or civilly, and that one way to do this was to get involved in those disputes at an early stage so that we could attempt to resolve those disputes before they went any further.” The public can visit the city attorney and city prosecutor webpage at cityofpasadena. net/city-attorney and find the program’s description, along with a link that will allow them to document an ongoing dispute. Then, it will then be relayed to the city prosecutor’s office. When the mediation process begins, the office will facilitate communication between the parties to work toward a mutually agreeable solution. “Right now, the police utilize a lot of their resources answering calls about neighborhood disputes that have yet not risen to the level of criminal action,” he said. “They also utilize a vast amount of resources in dealing with these disputes if they do eventually rise to the level of criminal action. If our program can get in there at the beginning of the dispute, that would reduce the necessity of the police going out for these disputes before they become crimes, reduce the amount of resources the police have to use once they do become crimes, and will allow the police to actually use their resources to go out and stop what we would all consider to be very important criminal activity, especially violent criminal activity.” The city’s mediation program was modeled after a similar program in Los Angeles city. Pasadena officials started the program due to a significant increase in city disputes, specifically concerning property usage, quality of life in relation to homeless activity, eviction and domestic incidents. The Pasadena mediation program differs from the one in Los Angeles, however, because the attorneys from the city prosecutor’s office will act as the program mediators. “The ultimate goal of the program is to foster better relationships within our neighborhoods and see quality of life improve,” Dowd explained. “If, in fact, we can foster better relationships between members of the public, that has the effect of branching out to the community as a whole and restoring some peace and harmony. This is a new program for the city, but we believe that it is a step in the right direction to promoting a better community.”
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By Pasadena Weekly Staff
igh Point Academy, a K-8 independent school in Pasadena, has appointed Joseph Campanella as its next head of school. Campanella succeeds interim head of school Dr. Tim Burns and the previous headmaster of seven years, Gary Stern. He will assume the role on July 1. “Joey’s experience and interests are a compelling match with the responsibilities desired for the High Point Academy head of school position, High Point Academy’s community culture, and its focus on academic excellence and the development of well-rounded students,” said Juan Gomez-Novy, chair, High Point Academy Board of Trustees. Campanella joins High Point Academy after 20 years at The Wesley School, a kindergarten to eighth grade independent school in North Hollywood, where he serves as the associate head of school and middle school division head. At The Wesley School, Campanella is responsible for managing the school’s day-to-day operations. He is also responsible for all middle school programs, including supervising 40 faculty members, supporting and coordinating faculty professional development, overseeing curriculum, monitoring the budget, scheduling, addressing all parent and faculty concerns, and leading high school placement. While at Wesley, he spearheaded educational initiatives, including creating a middle school honor code, expanding the middle school advisory program, growing the middle school enrichment and elective program, and introducing and leading the annual eighth grade trip to London. During his tenure, Campanella assisted with fundraising and served on a wide range of board committees, including curriculum; technology; admissions; long-range planning; school expansion; professional development; and diversity, equity and inclusion. Campanella earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Columbia University and a Master of Education in educational leadership from Concordia University. Campanella participated in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Fellowship for Aspiring Heads in 2020 and 2021. Campanella’s appointment concludes an extensive national search by a nine-member High Point Academy Search Committee and executive search firm, Morris & Berger. “High Point Academy is a wonderful and vibrant school filled with happy students, passionate teachers and supportive parents,” Campanella said. “The strength and closeness of the school community resonates deeply with me, and I am excited to be a part of leading High Point into a very bright future.” Campanella will be High Point Academy’s ninth head of school.
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