Brad Grumbles joined the Arroyo Grande High School staff as principal a year and a half ago. Before his move to AGHS, he served as an administrator for other schools in the Lucia Mar Unified School District for just over five years. Grumbles describes himself as a “Numbers Person” and that is apparent in his goals for AGHS.

“I define success based on those metrics… as continual growth and continual improvement,” Grumbles said as he pointed at the wall adjacent to the entrance to his office that’s pasted with graphs.

Completion of California’s A-G requirements and career technical education (CTE) pathways for all AGHS scholars are important goals for Grumbles. He believes that by completing these undertakings, students will be college and career ready when they graduate, even if they’re unsure what path they want to take. 

“We have an internal metric, the ‘ABCDs’: attendance, behavior, coursework, and development,” Grumbles said.

While these measurements are not posted on his aforementioned metrics wall, he still uses them to ensure that the decisions he makes for AGHS have a positive impact regarding these areas.

Learning doesn’t fall only on students—teachers are also responsible for ensuring that they can provide proper and adaptive education. Grumbles works hard to make certain that his colleagues have the resources they need to be successful.

“I want [the staff] to feel supported, so a big goal for me is to support our teachers and get out of their way,” Grumbles said. “Essentially, provide the space and the time for them to work with their colleagues and then support them financially so that they have

the materials and resources that they need.”

His “get out of the way” approach allows teachers to instruct their students as they see fit, as they spend the most time with their students and see how they behave in the classroom setting. This approach seems to be proving successful, as AGHS’s test scores in ELA and Mathematics CAASPP, as well as science/CAST proficiency, have consistently held steady or improved since 2022. 

While graphs and statistics are important in the everyday goals of Grumbles, his main goal cannot be determined by numbers. 

“My overarching goal is to continue the long enriched tradition of Eagle pride,” Grumbles said.