(October 4, 2004) — “Clark is like heaven,” remarks Karen Carlson, the new counselor here at Clark. Carlson, a counselor for seven years in elementary schools and in a high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, remarks that Clark “is heaven” compared to LAUSD. Carlson, one of two new additions to Clark this year, says that she enjoys the change of pace here, and that “[LAUSD] was gang-infested…sweeping the campus in the morning to get the drunk people out of the bushes, lockdowns for weapons.” Also new to the campus is Yvonne Dickie, now teaching Sophomore English. She is a teacher of 14 years and formerly a substitute teacher, familiar to Clark because she substituted for English teacher Jennifer Davis two years ago. Dickie, who has previously worked at Toll Middle School and First Avenue in Arcadia, says that Clark is an entirely different experience from middle school. “The state-of-the-art campus is most pleasurable, and the staff and faculty is wonderful,” says Dickie. Other than English, Dickie also enjoys teaching history and liked teaching science. In addition to the new staff, some teachers are returning after an absence of most or all of the 2003-2004 school year. Cynthia Puchniarz (Nash) was forced to take leave early in the 2003 school year to complete unfinished credentials for state requirements, and is returning to teach world history. Elizabeth Rubenstein, who took a teaching position at another school, is now back and teaching Homework Lab. Finally,Dennis Henderson, who was gone for the second semester of the year for an experimental surgical procedure at the University of Irvine, returns to his physics position. Clark is still in its infancy as a high school, and these new and returning teachers are but the first of many changes the school will experience.