FALLBROOK -- For Melissa Marovich, continuation high schools such as Fallbrook's Ivy High feel like home.

She enjoys the challenges of educating the troubled kids, and especially likes to see them succeed, said the Vista educator who will take over Dec. 1 as principal of the alternative Ivy and Oasis high school programs in the Fallbrook Union High School District.

"It's a group that I enjoy, I think, a lot more than other people do," Marovich said this week. "They have a lot of needs, but when they grow, their growth is huge. When they make a connection with somebody and education becomes important to them, they make great, big leaps. You get a lot of 'Aha!' moments with these kids."

Ivy serves as the continuation school for the 2,800-student Fallbrook High, and is where many troubled teenagers earn their high school diplomas.

Although enrollment fluctuates, there are usually around 120 students attending classes at Ivy, while an additional 85 pursue their diplomas through the Oasis home study program.

Marovich will helm both of those schools, and she said she couldn't be happier about it.

"I'm very excited, looking forward to getting back to working with kids and their families," she said.

She was most recently teaching Spanish at Vista High, but her career previous to that position was spent mostly at continuation and alternative high schools in the Vista Unified School District.

Ten years ago, she went from teaching at a conventional high school to teaching English language learners at the alternative Alta Vista High, and discovered that she enjoyed working with continuation students.

"I loved it over there, I was really happy," said Marovich. "You get the opportunity to really get to know a kid in that smaller setting."

Fallbrook Union High School District Superintendent Dale Mitchell said he was pleased to have Marovich on board.

"We're excited about the background she has and the opportunities to make progress in our district," Mitchell said.

Lisa Broomfield, the previous principal at Ivy and Oasis, left this summer to take an administrative position in the Moreno Valley school district.

Mitchell said longtime Fallbrook High administrator Peter Fellios stepped in as interim principal while the district searched for a replacement.

Even though she lives in Vista, Marovich said her parents live in Fallbrook, and she is well acquainted with the community.

"Growing up, I was in 4-H in Bonsall," she said. "(Fallbrook) is a great, tight-knit community, a great place for the kids to be."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 740-3516 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.