PACE merges with ASB following Wilson’s retirement

By Lauren Fauberman

Staff Writer

Following the retirement of Mira Costa teacher Dr. Rocky Wilson, People Attaining Complete Equality is no longer offered as a full class at Costa.

Wilson retired a week before the start of the new school year. With short term notice of Wilson’s sudden retirement, Mira Costa principal Dr. Ben Dale made the decision to combine PACE and Associated Student Body together in one class.

“With him gone and no one with a doctorate in this area like Wilson, we put PACE back into ASB to solve the short term issue,” Dale said. “We have no one with his specific qualifications to continue PACE as its own course.”

Wilson taught at Costa for 23 years and taught in the district for 26. He became eligible to retire in January but did not make the final decision to retire until July 29.

“Knowing that would be too late for MCHS to find a replacement, I met with the vice principal in charge of scheduling classes in mid June to let them know I would not be returning,” Wilson said.

According to Dale, his top priority was to not turn PACE students away. They needed a place to go and putting ASB and PACE together again made the most sense because both classes deal with student run activities.

“What I didn’t want to do was say to PACE kids that there was no more PACE, that was non negotiable,” Dale said. “We are still having PACE it just needed a place to go and it used to be in ASB anyway.”

Putting PACE and ASB together will add projects to ASB, such as drug awareness assemblies and red ribbon week events that PACE was formerly responsible for.

“I think ASB and PACE were meant to be together so therefore the merging of these two programs is no problem,” ASB President Hannah Watkins said. “The pace kids that came into ASB are hardworking and enthusiastic, so they are a plus to the ASB program.

Since putting PACE kids into ASB again is only Dale’s short term solution to Wilson’s retirement, his long term plan is undecided. There are multiple options for the future of PACE.

“For the long term now we have to figure out where the program is going,” Dale said. “The other day I heard that someone wants to start a PACE club that is also a part of ASB so we are just finding our way with it right now.