Dear Westside Christian Family:

[In 2019) My wife and I decided that we would take a respite from the twenty-seven years that I have been in High School education. Knowing I would return to this field, we prayed for the right opportunity and asked the Holy Spirit to make it clear to us where He would want me to serve. One year later, here we are! The path that our Lord paved for me to arrive at Westside as your next Head of School has been joyful, exciting, and even at times miraculous. Imagine being hired at all during these strange times, and to boot, imagine being hired entirely over Zoom, never even having seen the school I was going to lead! None of this was a barrier for God, however, and He made it clear with each and every interview that this was the place He wanted me. I wish to thank the search committee and board members for their exceedingly professional process through these past few months, for their kindness, and of course, for their future friendship.

I come to the Portland area with wide and varied experience in the field of education. After touring the campus last week, and finally meeting real people, I am confident that the Lord has uniquely prepared me as a leader for this school at this time in its illustrious forty-year history. This is a very good school with an extremely dedicated faculty. My goal over the ensuing years will be to help make it a great school, where students are not just treated to an outstanding education, but where they can grow spiritually, emotionally, and socially, as human beings made for service to their King Jesus Christ.

Many of the relationships I am leaving down here in Simi Valley are friendships I have made over the years as Principal at Grace Brethren High School. While it's difficult to leave them, I am excited to forge new relationships with you, my Westside family. In fact, I won’t have it any other way! So, let's do this together Westside, lets usher this school into the next 40 years with excellence and style. I look forward to partnering with you all on this endeavor.

 

Blessings,
John Hynes