At the beginning of this school year, El Rancho welcomed Kendall Goyenaga as the new principal. Despite being new to the  El Rancho High School administration, Goyenaga has worked with the El Rancho District for quite some time now. 

“I was a teacher at North Park Middle School for 5 years, then I began my administrative career,” Goyenaga says. “I’ve been in the district for 26 years.” 

Goyenaga is also an El Rancho High School alumni. During his time at El Rancho, Goyenaga was involved in volleyball and soccer as well as the Messa Club. He said “High School was the best time for me.” After graduating from El Rancho he went on to study at California State University, Dominguez Hills where he obtained a major in psychology with a minor in geography and a masters in counseling. 

During his final year in college he ended up working as a college tutor and says,  “He fell in love with the work they did with kids.” After that he continued to look for opportunities that involved working as a teacher/mentor. 

Now as the principal at El Rancho High School, Goyenaga says  “I want to make sure that we are able to create as many opportunities for our students as possible. My goal is that once students leave our school, they have the ability to make the best decision for themselves with all the doors that we have opened for them.” Goyenaga wants his students to have bright futures. He expresses he is excited and driven to see the students succeed. 

Although making a change at El Rancho is a high priority for Goyeneaga, he is a huge sports fan from watching sports to coaching them during his free time. “I coached my kids’ soccer team when they were younger,” he says.

 Aside from watching and coaching sports, Goyenaga loves to travel. He’s had the opportunity to travel all throughout Central America, Europe, the Philippines, and Canada. Even as a child, “When I was a kid my family and I took a road trip and drove from Costa Rica to the United States.” He says “It was probably the most memorable 11 days of my life.”

Goyenaga is here to help guide students, as he does what he loves.