Before replacing Susan Eberhart in the position of assistant principal in charge of discipline and administration at VHS, Desmond Webster worked as assistant principal of Rio del Valle Middle School in Oxnard for two years. Before that, Webster spent 20 years working with specialized populations at the Ventura County Office of Education. What this specifically means is that he worked with students at Phoenix Community Counseling in San Bernardino, an alternative placement high school for students expelled from their previous districts. Webster described his job as counseling and teaching emotionally disturbed students.

When asked about his upcoming goals for the school year, Webster mentioned communication: “In terms of discipline and guidance, [I’d like to be] avoiding bad experiences and having the journey be smooth. I never want to be that person and I never want to see a person who is a negative impact on the student. I never want to be [that], whether it be an activity club or class. If you can avoid [butting heads] by making that smoother, that’s the goal.”

Webster isn’t completely new to VHS or VUSD. Under main coach Dan Smith, Webster coached JV football at VHS for three years. In addition, he also coached at Buena High School for 17 years. He stated his favorite sports he coached at BHS were “football for six years, girls basketball for three years and softball for three years.”

As a student at Santa Clara High School, Webster lettered in football, basketball and track. He stated that his favorite part about high school was the relationships he made, saying, “In college you don’t build relationships… you go to class, you’re thinking about the future. You still have an atmosphere, but high school is more bonding. I think those are more lifelong relationships.”

When asked about his role as Webster said, “I don’t think it is specifically my role, but I am an African American person who has this role [as an administrator] as a role model for students. That’s responsibility to be fair to everyone. It’s a responsibility to understand everyone. Coming from that perspective and seeing and knowing history in terms of any race, you have a background. When [I] see an injustice… something that doesn’t look right, I feel like I have more of a perspective.”