The gym at Lathrop High may be named in honor of retired principal Greg Leland.

That’s the  recommendation of a naming committee the Manteca Unified School District  appointed.

The committee consisted of  Clara Schmiedt, Executive Director of Secondary Education; Chuck Selna, Vice Principal; Tammy Johnson. Community Member; Michael Dell’Osso, Community Member; Kaleb Constantino, Student Board Member;, and Marie Freitas, Board President.

The board will consider the Lathrop High gym naming recommendation as well as a proposal to name the Goden West School Gym after Lloyd Wofford when they meet Thursday at 6 p.m. at the district office, 2271 W. Louise Ave.

Members of the Golden West naming committee were: Jenni Andrews, Executive Director of Elementary Education; Syed (Tony) Shah, Principal; Cindy Wofford, Community Member; David Dutra, Community Member; Sarah Peterson, Student Board Member; and Marie Freitas, Board President.

Leland was the third principal at Lathrop High when he arrived in 2017.

He retired in June after the end of the last school year.

Leland’s Manteca Unified School District career started in 1984 as a Manteca High student teacher.

 His first full-time teaching position was from 1985-86 as a world history and English teacher at Lathrop School. He then taught health psychology, and peer resource at Manteca High from 1986 to 1992. Leland worked from 1992 to 1994 as East Union High’s peer resource and driver education teacher.
Leland joined Sierra High’s staff in 1994 where he taught health, world history, and advanced placement European history until 2011.
He served as the summer school principal at Shasta, Neil Hafley and Sierra in 2002, 2003, and 2009.
From 2000 to 2011 he split his duties between being dean of activities, administrator and teaching. In 2011, he became a fulltime vice principal.
Leland was an assistant football coach at Manteca High and East Union High schools from 1985 to 1993, assistant track and field coach at Manteca High and East Union from 1987 to 1994, and served as head track and field coach at Sierra High from 1994 to 1999 where his teams enjoyed three Valley Oak League championships and the San Joaquin Section Division III title in 1999.

Leland was the head Sierra High football coach from 1994 to 2004. In 2009, he did a stint as the head freshmen girls’ softball coach for Sierra.
Leland was honored as Manteca Unified Outstanding Young Educator in 1987-88, served as a board member from 1992 to 1988 for the California Association of Peer Programs, and was EPIC Teacher of the Year in 1996-9.

He was a charter board member of Give Every Child a Chance in 1998, earned the Ferlito Alejandra/San Joaquin County Sportsmanship Commission Award in 1999, was the California State Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2000, was a Prudential Foundation Outstanding Educator in 2001, was the 2009 California Sac-Joaquin Section Athletic Director of the Year, and was bestowed the Best of Manteca honors for school administrators in 2010.