Harbor Day School gets new director

Harbor Day School plans to welcome its new head of school Sunday.

Daniel Greenwood replaces Douglas E. Phelps as director of the independent K-8 school in Corona del Mar.

“I can’t wait to join the Harbor Day School community,” Greenwood said in a prepared statement. “The school clearly lives up to its mission of being family-centered and well-balanced, as well as offering a nurturing environment.”

Greenwood comes to Harbor Day from Chandler School in Pasadena, another independent K-8, where he served as assistant head of school and director since 2007.

In his time there, he spearheaded several projects to improve student experiences, including implementing a middle school laptop program and a “buddy” program meant to better acquaint students.

“We’re going to miss him up here,” said Jonathan Jaffrey, founder and president of Pasadena Independent Schools Foundation, to which Chandler School belongs. “They lucked out getting him on board at Harbor Day.”

Phelps is relocating to Los Angeles with his wife to be closer to her new teaching job in Brentwood, according to school spokeswoman Noelle Becker.

He will pursue consulting work and continue to serve on the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges accreditation board.

In a nationwide, three-stage search that ended in December, the school’s board of trustees selected Greenwood from a group of 12 other candidates, citing in a news release his “intelligence, warmth, character, dedication and belief in the mission” of the school, coupled with his professional background, as the basis for their decision.

Recently relocating to Newport Beach from Pasadena with his wife and three children, Greenwood has experience in both the classroom and education administration.

Earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s and doctorate in education from the University of Virginia, he is also the author of the book “Action in the Classroom: A Guide to Student Produced Digital Video in K-12 Education.”

In a previous position at Saint Paul’s School in Clearwater, Fla., he taught sixth-grade social studies and seventh-grade math and coached soccer. Following that, he moved into an administrative position St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, Va.

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