I am honored to join the Fillmore Unified School District beginning in the 2022-23 school year. As a Ventura County native, and resident of the City of Fillmore for the past 10 years now, I am thrilled at the opportunity to now serve the very community I call home.
Prior to commencing a career in education, I proudly served in the United States Marine Corps reserves from 2003-2009. In 2006 I earned the distinguished honor of Marine of the Year for 3rd ANGLICO. That same year, I completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Management, from California Lutheran University.
In February of 2007, I was called to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; an order that led to almost immediate deployment to the Middle East, where I became a combat-action veteran at the age of 23.
Upon return, I rejoined the private sector, working as a Project Manager and later, the Director of Finance & Forward Planning, for a Ventura-county based land and real estate development and engineering firm.
Selfless service, community-based stewardship, and several incredible role models, together led to the decision to pursue a career in education. By 2014 I accepted a long-term substitute teaching position focusing full-time on 7th grade mathematics. Immediately I found that serving in the classroom and empowering students to reach their highest potentials was undoubtedly the environment where I belonged.
For the 2015-16 school year, I accepted a full-time 6th grade Math & Science position at Isbell Middle School in Santa Paula. With teaching credentials in Multiple Subjects, as well as Career Technical Education (CTE) with Designated Subjects of Architecture & Engineering and Business & Finance, I have had the pleasure of teaching all four core subject areas including math, science, English language arts, and history/social studies, as well as the elective subjects including STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art & Math). Over the course of the time spent in Santa Paula, the inclusion of girls entering the Engineering Pathway at SPHS increased more than 400%. In addition to this breakthrough, the inclusivity of students in special education that truly thrived within the STEAM programs at Isbell served as further testament of how beneficial the project-based, high-quality instruction met the needs of today’s diverse students.
Inspired to follow in my father’s footsteps, and after earning several distinguished awards including: Ventura County Pathfinder’s Award, Teacher of the Year (2019), National Engineer’s Week, and Project Lead the Way National Teacher of Year (2020), I believed it was possible to expand my support for students beyond the classroom, and ultimately sought to lead a school.
In 2020 I was accepted to the School Leadership Academy with the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California (USC). The exemplary 15-month program culminated in the earning of an Administrative Credential in the Spring of 2021, allowing me to lead a TK-8 school, Thurgood Marshall, within the Oxnard School District. As the only Assistant Principal, my experiences were vast and comprehensive. The skills that I obtained throughout the 2021-22 school year have undoubtedly prepared me to now serve at Fillmore Middle School; an opportunity that once again, I am thrilled and honored to partake in.
Jan-Erik Sand
Assistant Principal
Fillmore Middle School