New principal assumes intense, high-profile post.
Ben Drati fled war in his native Uganda, grew up in south-central Los Angeles and played linebacker for Fresno State.
He learned to be tough -- a quality he'll need to face the demands of leading Clovis West High School.
Drati, who took over as the school's principal last month, is in charge of one of the Valley's largest and most high-profile campuses.
The northeast Fresno school, part of the Clovis Unified School District, has a statewide reputation for academics and athletics. The campus also is known for having highly involved parents with lofty expectations for the principal and the school.
Educators say that being a high school principal is one of the toughest jobs in education. The expectations at Clovis West may be especially high.
"I think there's more pressure at Clovis West because of how they've excelled," said parent Mark Ruof, a member of an advisory committee at the school. "How do you get better when you're already at the top?"
Said parent Esther Moultrie: "I know I wouldn't want to take the job."
But she said Drati has "the gifts and talents -- and the intelligence -- to handle it."
Drati, 36, replaced Jeanne Hatfield, who left the job after 2 1/2 years to become assistant superintendent of the Clovis West area. Drati was hired as a learning director at Clovis West five years ago and has been deputy principal since 2006.
Hatfield said that leading Clovis West was the "hardest job I have ever had," routinely requiring 12-hour days that started at 6:30 a.m. Like all Clovis Unified principals, she was expected to attend nearly every event connected with the school, from Saturday pancake breakfasts to football games ending after 10 p.m. The campus has 2,543 students.
"It's a lot like running a little city, the scope is just so vast," said Larry Powell, superintendent of Fresno County schools.
Powell said the job at Clovis West is tough because the campus draws from some of Fresno's most affluent neighborhoods, and parents tend to have "a higher level of expectation ... for the school."
The Clovis Unified district stretches miles west of Clovis city limits, taking in much of northeast Fresno and pricey river-bluff areas. (School district lines often do not align with city boundaries.)
Sean Canfield, who taught at Clovis West for 16 years before leaving in 2001, said the school has a "sophisticated parent clientele" with large numbers of highly educated professionals.
"You've got professors, doctors, two-doctor families, a great number of those types of students," said Canfield, who now teaches at University High School at California State University, Fresno.
He found parents exacting, but enjoyed his years at Clovis West: "Most of the time what they were demanding ... was just excellence."
But some who contributed their time or money "felt they were owed something" by the administration, Canfield said.
In January, football coach Marty Martin was fired after one season and a second-place finish in the Central Section Division I.
Martin's lawyer said he has filed a claim against the district alleging, among other things, that boosters lobbied school and district officials to fire him.
While not specifically addressing the Martin issue, Drati said the perception that wealthy, pushy parents call the shots at Clovis West "couldn't be further from the truth."
He also said Clovis West would not be successful without supportive parents.
The principal has an obligation to listen to parents, Hatfield said, "but that doesn't mean you act."
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