By Staff Writer, Joe Welsh
Come the first day of school, students may have noticed several changes around campus, most noticeably, three new additions to the Hoover staff.

Bill Sterling is the new Assistant Principal. He previously worked as an athletic trainer and the English Department Chairman at Baldwin Park High School for 27 years. Sterling took over when former Assistant Principal Tammie Hollis-Jackson transferred at the end of last year.
Students were first officially introduced to Sterling at the welcome back assembly in the auditorium. After only several weeks, Sterling already feels like he has been accepted as a member of the family.
�I really appreciate the friendliness of the students and the attitude of the staff towards me,� he said.
Principal Kevin Welsh, who hired Sterling, has only good things to say about him.
�Bill has an engaging personality, great listening skills, and an all important sense of humor,� Welsh said. �He can relate well with faculty and instruction. He�s a great team player.�
Also new to the school is drama teacher Dave Huber, who has big plans for his first year.
�I want to have the greatest drama department the world has ever seen,� he said.
Huber replaced English teachers Amanda Ditto and Ruby Boparai, who temporarily filled in as drama teachers and advisers last year. Huber is already planning ahead for more than four productions and drama projects for the year, which is more than the drama department has produced in the last three years combined.
�I think he will be successful because he never gives up on something he really wants,� first-time drama student Maggie Benitez (�07) said. �He is open-minded and exposes me to new ideas and things I never knew about drama.�
The youngest addition to the Hoover staff is Caroline Sweeney, the new Dean of Attendance. Sweeney previously taught math and was a pep squad adviser at Pomona High School. Like Huber and Sterling, Sweeney aims to impress in her first year.
�My plan is to get as many students to come to Hoover as possible,� Sweeney said. �I want kids to know that I�m not a disciplinarian. I�m just an adult who can help with problems.�
The Dean of Attendance is a new position established by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Gregory Franklin and Superintendent Dr. Michael Escalante. Due to the decrease in enrollment over the last couple of years, this position was created to increase student attendance throughout the school district.
�I believe Ms. Sweeney will not only succeed in increasing attendance, but I believe she will also make a difference in students� lives,� Welsh said.
With these three new additions to the staff, Welsh is confident that things will be running smoothly in the upcoming months.
�I think it�s going to be a great year,� he said.