Clayton Valley Charter High School

Clayton Valley Charter High School is a directly funded independent charter school and is operated as a California non-profit public benefit corporation pursuant to California law. A copy of our charter and our corporate bylaws can be found at the bottom of this page. The CVCHS charter provides for a governing board that functions much like a school board. On September 1, 2011, teachers, classified staff and parents gathered at Clayton Valley High School to elect their respective representatives of the new governing board. Those elected members then selected, as provided for in the CVCHS charter petition, two community at-large members and a retired teacher to fill out the initial governing board. The current governing board is composed of the following members: Ted Meriam'01 (Community-At-Large, Chairperson) A long-time resident of Clayton, Ted attended Mt. Diablo Elementary, Diablo View Middle, and graduated from Clayton Valley High School in 2001 as the Grand Altair, the highest award a CVCHS student can obtain. A graduate of the University of Puget Sound, Ted is a College Talent Manager for Microsoft Corporation and offers extensive knowledge and background in organizational leadership and how to innovatively leverage technology to support the mission, vision, and operation of the school. Prior to joining the Governing Board, Ted formally served on the City of Clayton Planning Commission and chaired the CVHS 50th Anniversary Celebration. He now holds memberships and offices in the Clayton Historical Society, Clayton Business & Community Association, Clayton Valley Garden Club, P2C Foundation, and University of Puget Sound Executive Alumni Council. In his personal life, Ted enjoys cooking, gardening, traveling, playing with leading-edge technology, and entertaining friends & family at his home. Megan Kommer (Parent, Vice-Chairperson) A resident of Clayton, Megan is a pension administrator and consultant. She has served as president of the Diablo View Middle School Parent Faculty Club and has four daughters, including one at Clayton Valley. She is a graduate of Concord High School and UC Berkeley. Kristy Downs(Parent) A long time resident of Clayton, Kristy Downs has served the community by volunteering in leadership positions at Mt. Diablo Elementary, Diablo View Middle School, and CVCHS. She is currently the PFC president at DVMS until her third term ends in June. She served for five years on the Board of Directors at a non profit organization in Lafayette and spent many years as a Teaching Assistant in the Oakland Hills/Berkeley area. She has three children; one currently attends CVCHS, and another will begin next year. She attended DVC after graduating from Las Lomas High School and enjoys cooking and outdoor activities in her free time. Diane Bailey(Classified Staff) Diane has over 25 years of experience in customer service-oriented financial operations. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of a state-chartered credit union. A resident of Concord and a graduate of Concord High School, Diane has been the Clayton Valley High School treasurer since 1999. Mike Fine(Community-at-Large) A resident of Clayton since 2009, Mike Fine is a software architect at Comcast Silicon Valley Innovation Center. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.S. Computer Engineering) and Stanford University (M.S. Computer Science). In addition to his work in the high tech industry, Mike has run operations for a learning center that provided NCLB-mandated supplemental educational services to approximately 2,000 students in the greater Bay Area and helped a colleague start a charter elementary school in San Jose. Mike has two children both who attend Clayton Valley. Dr. Patrick Gaffney(Administrator) Dr. Gaffney has been an administrator for more than 12 years and has 22 years' experience working in non-public, public, private, international and charter schools settings. Originally from Los Angeles, he holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology, an MS in Counseling and a Doctorate in Education from UCLA. Dr. Gaffney has lived in six different counties in California as well as Florida, Spain, and Colombia, South America. Dr. Gaffney currently lives in Concord with his son who attends Highlands elementary school. Dr. Gaffney looks forward to sharing his knowledge and experience to assist CVCHS to continue to build on its current successes. Richard Asadoorian (Retired Teacher) Richard Asadoorian is a graduate of Cal. State Univ., Fresno with a Masters in Educational Theory and a Fine Arts minor. He retired from Fresno Unified after 30 years having taught elementary grades, serving as a middle school counselor, high school activities director and finally as a alternative high principal. He holds honorable discharges from both the U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard. After retirement, he was a Domestic Violence Counselor in California and Oregon for three years as a C.A.S.A volunteer. Most recently, Mr. Asadoorian served a four-year term on the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) Board of Trustees. In his personal life, Mr. Asadoorian swims, sings, cooks, and travels. Sarah Lovick(Teacher) Sarah Lovick is a proud 1996 Clayton Valley honors graduate. She went on to gain an English Literature degree from Cal Sate Hayward and then moved on to obtain her teaching credential from Chapman University. In 2002 she became a full time English teacher, and soon after, she started the Public Service Academy. During the first year of the Charter she began the AVID intervention classes. She now teaches AVID, runs the AVID club, co-chairs the Link Crew Summer program for incoming 9th graders, runs teacher training for the Achieve 3000 Literacy program and takes CVCHS students on a yearly trip to visit seven universities in Southern California each Spring. Off campus she works with at-risk students at the John Muir behavioral health clinic. In her personal time Sarah's hobbies include reading and pho Thomas Sparks(Teacher) Tom Sparks is a 20 year resident of Clayton and a 1984 graduate of Clayton Valley High School He is in his 22nd year as a teacher and starting this second year as Boys' Athletic Director. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Medicine from San Diego Sate University and Clear California Teaching credential from Cal Sate East Bay. Tom teaches Biology and is a Varsity Football Coach. Tom has two children who attend CVCHS currently and one more who will be attending Clayton Valley in 2017. Tom is actively involved in the community through the Junior Eagles Youth Football Program and has been involved in little league as well. Tom looks forward to bringing his vast experience as an educator and coach to Clayton Valley Charter High School. He is excited to be a part of Clayton Valley Charter High School's future success and preparing our students for careers in the 21st century.