BELOVED EDUCATOR ROBERT LELAND DIES

Dr. Robert Leland - Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley (click on image to enlarge)
When Bob Leland retired as the principal of Burbank High School, he continued his lifelong dedication to youth by acting as a child advocate in the courts. No one who knew Dr. Leland was surprised.
Few people worked harder at their jobs than Bob Leland. He presided over Burbank High School and its then new continuation school throughout the 1960s. He watched his staff form a chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, his students become fans of the Beatles, an ever-increasing list of Burbank graduates fall in Vietnam, and the kids of Burbank reject small town conservatism to become flower children. Somehow through his sincerity and sense of fair play, Bob Leland kept his school afloat. Dr. Leland died on the 22nd of December 2008. He was proceeded in death by his wife Pearl Leland, retired professor of nursing from Los Angeles Valley College. Bob was a good man.