Dave Grissom Hired as New Mountain View High Principal

A new educator from Santa Clara will now lead the instruction of nearly 1800 students for the first time in ten years. 

Dave Grissom, the current principal at Santa Clara High School, will take over the helm at Mountain View High School succeeding Keith Moody, who moves to the directorship of the Mountain View Adult Education School. He beat out 51 applicants statewide vetted by a selection committee of Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District (MVLA) administrators, teachers, classified staff, parents and students.

Grissom's appointment becomes official after the vote from the Board of Trustees of MVLA at the May 28 regular Board of Education meeting.

"I cannot adequately express how thrilled I am to be joining the Mountain View High School community," Grissom said. "I have always been extremely impressed with the students and staff that I have come into contact with from Mountain View, and to now be a member of that community is an absolute dream come true."

Grissom has been an educator for 19 years, with the majority of those years in the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD). In his role as principal of similarly sized Santa Clara High since 2007, Grissom helped the high school achieve and recently it has been named as a top ten percent high school by U.S. News and World Reports.

While a loss to the Santa Clara Unified School District, Grissom comes highly recommended by his colleagues.

"Dave Grissom exudes commitment, character and has a big picture sense required to be successful in running a large comprehensive high school," said Brad Syth, assistant superintendent at SCUSD. "Dave brings a wealth of administrative experience and knowledge in secondary education from athletics to discipline to curriculum and instruction. He is recognized by his peers for his expertise in all these areas."

Grissom lives with his wife of 19 years Christine, and their two children, Ryan, 14, and Connor 10.

"I am truly honored with being named Principal at Mountain View," he said. "I look forward to working with the staff and parents to ensure the best education possible for our students."

There will be a reception to welcome Dave to the MVHS community for staff and parents Thursday, May 23 from 3 to 4PM in the MVHS library.