July 8, 2004

Leland welcomes an old friend to the helm
Bob Setterlund appointed new principal

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Unlike most schools looking to find replacements for vacated positions, hiring a new principal to fill the top spot at Leland High School was quite literally an “inside” job.

When Bob Setterlund arrived at Leland in the summer of 1972, the young band director was completely unaware that 32 years later, he would reach the head of the administrative class.

With the announcement of Susan Votaw’s retirement, Setterlund’s rare tenure, coupled with a desire to continue the school’s forward momentum made him a respectable candidate for the position she would leave behind, and she couldn’t be happier with the choice.

“I am elated,” Votaw says. “I think it’s one of the wisest decisions the district has ever made. They always say they want to be able to grow their own—this is one those times when they’ve absolutely done it and done it well.”

Votaw credits Setterlund with being instrumental in writing grants and proposals that garnered recognition for Leland, including the designation as a New American High School National Demonstration Site in 2000 and California Distinguished School in 2002, as well as the award of the Specialized Secondary Program Grant for filmmaking and animation.

“He knows more about the school and how it works than anyone else,” she adds. “Truly, it makes me feel assured that Leland will continue its course of continued improvement with Bob in the lead.”

Born in Ferndale, Calif., Setterlund was raised on a farm in the small Victorian village until his family moved to Chico. He was introduced to music at an early age as his Scandinavian roots all but made playing the accordion a family tradition. In school however, he opted for a more popular instrument, playing both tenor and alto saxophone in the school band. His passion for music continued throughout his college career at Chico State University, where he received a masters degree in music theory and composition, with a minor in speech and English—a fitting start to a long and illustrious career in education that would take him from San Benito High School in Hollister to Santa Maria High School, before landing in Almaden.

While directing high school versions of Broadway musical remakes such as “Guys and Dolls,” “Babes in Toyland,” and “The Music Man,” Setterlund earned another masters degree in secondary school administration from Cal Poly. “I didn’t know then whether I was going to use it or not,” he admits. “A number of us were picking up extra classes at college—extra graduate units got you extra pay. And I never liked to do something and not end up getting something along the way, so I signed up for the masters degree program.”

In 1972, Setterlund received a call from then San Jose Unified music coordinator Ross Bergantz, who was looking to hire a band director for Leland High School. “He knew someone at Chico State who knew me and he just called out of the blue,” Setterlund says. “His son was in the band so he had an interest in it.”

“I remember coming into the Almaden Valley in May and it was gorgeous,” he adds. “The school was gorgeous. And the people were so nice. When they offered me the job, I said, ‘this looks great.’”

Setterlund dove into building the school’s band program, while participating in student activities, including The Spirit Staff Advisory and Student Body Government until the late 70s, when huge cutbacks rocked music and arts programs—forcing him to teach English classes to fill up his day. “It got to be more and more English and less music,” he says.

His speech and English minor later served as a fitting contingency plan for his new role as chair of the English Department. “It was nice having the camaraderie of other teachers and working as a team,” he admits. “In music, you’re kind of by yourself and this was a whole department.”

Setterlund remembers difficult times during the 80s, when the district went to two strikes and filed for bankruptcy. Severe budget woes then forced the school to reduce its curriculum from six to five periods—where they remained until reinstated in 1994.

“We saw a lot of cutbacks,” he explains. “Proposition 13 caused us to lose a lot of the music and arts programs that were booming at the time. That’s when my daughters were going here—they sort of got a minimal Leland education at the time.”

Over the years, Setterlund’s interests broadened to include scheduling for the English department, and later the school. When most of Leland’s administrative office retired simultaneously in 1994, the district looked to his experience and promoted him to assistant principal of Instruction—a job that involved writing courses of study, developing the curriculum, and hiring staff, as well as organizing student scheduling, transcripts, and report cards.

“Nobody knew how things had been done in the past and I’d already been here 20 years,” says Setterlund. “I knew the school and I enjoyed the puzzle of putting it all together.”

As an administrator for the past 10 years, Setterlund has seen the school continue to make impressive strides in education by receiving a prestigious Clear Accreditation Report and adding the Special Emphasis Award in Technology to their growing list of credits.

“That was especially gratifying,” he explains. “Five years before, we had next to nothing in technology. That’s when the Leland Foundation was formed and the Transformation Board came in to help. Going from having nothing in technology to becoming a state award winner was a great tribute to the hard work of everyone involved.

It put a stamp of approval on the fact that what we were doing was right and good for the school—and that the kids were really getting something out of it.”

To date, only one title has eluded the school, but that may change in September. “We never really picked up the Blue Ribbon,” he admits. “We decided that’s the one piece that we didn’t have, so we applied for that this year.”

Along with Leland’s awards and technological growth, Setterlund considers the successful institution of new advanced placement programs, along with multiple CCS championships and watching students go off to high-level colleges among his many career highlights. “I remember the great concerts and musicals we had in the past too,” he says.

Looking ahead, Setterlund will focus on key components brought to light during a recent two-day retreat, where the Leland Foundation and Transformation Board met with students, school officials, business leaders and community members to revisit the goals set five years ago in an effort to set a course that would take them to the end of the decade.

“It was time to go back and look at everything we did,” he explains. “So much has been accomplished. Now it’s a time of renewal and refocusing on where we go from here.”

According to Setterlund, Leland’s vision, goals and guiding principles remain constant. While ongoing dedication toward helping students achieve their highest potential remains at the top of the list, future emphasis on expanding project-based learning, strengthening science and the arts, creating a stronger community connection, and concentrating on middle quartile students will be essential to the school’s future success.

“That’s our job description for the next five years,” he says. “Besides being the best we can be for all students.

The progress Leland has made over the last decade has been a team effort and being part of that team has been gratifying. Now I look to continuing that team effort in a new capacity.”