SamoHi Principal Eva Mayoral Resigns

Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Sandra Lyon quit lat March, and Thursday, Eva Mayoral resigned after 3 years as principal. In an e mail to the community, Mayoral said she is leaving the State of California to live closer to family.

“I can tell you unequivocally that I have never been fonder of any group of students, parents or staff,” she wrote. “It is this love that has made my life joyful, and this decision excruciating. But you are not my only love. My son and his family, all of whom I adore, have reached out in need, and as unfathomable as it is to leave you, I just don’t have it in me to say no.”

Details regarding the process for naming Mayoral’s successor at Samohi were not immediately clear, but SMMUSD spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said the District will commence a search for Mayoral's successor “immediately.”

Mayoral has spent a total of 21 years working for the SMMUSD. She earned a B.A. in Biology, a master’s in education from UCLA. Then she spent 6 years teaching science at Fairfax High School. She became a Samohi science teacher in 1995, where she led the Chemistry department.

In 2004 Mayoral became a Samohi house principal. She was promoted to principal of John Adams Middle School in 2010. In late 2012 she was won the award of “Administrator of the Year” from the California Music Educators Association for her work with the JAMS music department.

This email is on behalf of Eva Mayoral, Samohi Principal

Dear Samohi Family,

It is with great physical and emotional pain that I write you to say goodbye. Over the past 20 years, through multiple positions, and ever escalating intensity, I have loved Samohi. I can tell you unequivocally that I have never been fonder of any group of students, parents or staff. It is this love that has made my life joyful, and this decision excruciating. But you are not my only love. My son and his family, all of whom I adore, have reached out in need, and as unfathomable as it is to leave you, I just don't have it in me to say no.

Students, please know that the Samohi of your tomorrow will be GREAT! Over the past 3 years we have laid the bedrock foundation of several powerful ways of working and thinking: Teachers are working together in Professional Learning Communities to better inspire, engage and support you; Restorative practices are taking root across our campus, as together our school strives to pull our full community closer together, by recognizing the value of listening with intention, valuing, honoring, and supporting expressed needs, and working to bring our best selves together (even after conflict); Our AP course numbers (and successes) across ALL under-represented groups have risen significantly, with Samohi enjoying an unprecedented 37.7% decrease in our opportunity gap in just 2 years; Samohi was accredited as a California Democracy School, and across all freshmen seminar classes next year EVERY student will participate not only in the civic action inquiry process, but in a Get Focused; Stay Focused (10 year plan) curriculum designed to enhance high school support that has historically and nationally been about making college the target, and alter it to make career the target. This will involve working with students to discover their passions and strengths, and then using these to hone in on viable careers that will excite them. THEN helping them to determine the best suited college or program to support acquisition of this goal, and lastly, what they need to do now to be a viable and competitive candidate for that program. In short, more students will come to see school as something being done for them, instead of to them :) .

In all subsequent years, through every English class our students take, follow up work, continued exploration, and strategic and timely embedded college application support work, will support all our students through to their successful launch into post-secondary education.

So, as much as I will miss you, and as much as I am crying, life will be great at Samohi!

I believe to my core in all these programs! How do I know they will thrive and survive? Because my philosophy has always been to never work alone. I have worked hard and long to be sure that we had a critical mass of supporters within everything we have done. We have a huge number of brilliant and committed teachers and administrators who will carry on and care for this work. Several inspired and inspiring teachers are deeply entrenched in strong leadership roles in ALL this work. They have co-developed systems, long-range planned, and worked out strategic implementation along with me. You are in great hands Samohi, because you are in many hands!

Please know that I will always love you from afar, and will be cheering on Samohi every step of the way!!! Being a part of our Samohi Family has meant everything to me, and it will ALWAYS be how I think of you.

With great fondness,

Eva Mayoral

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