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Community Corner

Honoring Rey Mayoral, Novato High School Principal

Personally speaking, Rey gave me the opportunity to become an administrator.  Breaking in to administration is tough.  There are very few administration jobs and the ones that are available usually require experience that you can’t get because you need experience to get a job.  Rey recognized qualities in me that he thought would make me a good member of the Novato High “A Team” as we called it or (Administrative Team). 

 

Being on Rey’s A Team was something unique.  Rey has a philosophy about how the team conducts themselves and there were rules like:  We always watch each other back by working as a team; go to Rey first with a problem or concern so we all share the same information and have a plan, if we are speaking about an issue- speak with one voice, do whatever it takes to support the school, everyone on the A Team has an important part of the leadership responsibilities, do your job well, and be willing to make a personal sacrifice for the betterment of the school.  Most schools have leadership teams but Rey’s unique vision made everybody on the administrative team an important part of the leadership structure and in so doing made us true leaders.

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After becoming an administrator, I realized that many people didn’t understand the unusual skills that I believe make Rey not a good but a great Principal.  Rey has an uncanny ability to make the difficult look easy in fact it can look so easy that he can be misjudged as not working hard enough.  But the truth is that Rey’s style of leadership is that responsibilities are shared by the A Team, teacher leaders, and parents.  This in turn led us all to be more involved because we were valued and treated as a valuable part of the school.

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Most people think that a Principal should “act educated,” (use complex words, talk the curricular language, and be able to discourse about the future of education.) While Rey certainly can do this, his leadership style comes from a different place.  Rey truly likes people and gets along well with people.  He likes the students, the teachers, the staff, the cafeteria people, the parents and of course the kids. He likes, the athletes, the academics, the troubled, the lost, the successful and the confused students (He likes them all.) Because of his congenial nature, he is able to build meaningful relationships that transcend the job of education and instead create an educational community.  Most people recognize that one of the big problems with a large school is that it can be impersonal and seemingly isolated.  Rey’s friendly and down to earth style created a true community where Novato High become not a school but our school where anyone could come in and share their concerns; and we were all proud of it.  

 

It is important to understand that education works best when students and parents see the school not as an institution but part of their community.  It builds pride, involvement and a sense that we all have a voice. Rey was able to this directly through his leadership.

Another, in my opinion, overlooked quality of Rey’s has to do with Novato High School’s steady success and improvement.  Many people looking at what was accomplished at the school in terms of STAR Test improvement, the development of MSA, ROTC, expansion and development of new A.P. and Honors classes, the growth of the AVID program, the creation of the design and product academy, after school student support, improved college acceptances, higher GPA’s, and markedly increased college scholarships and seem to fill that these were all the result of uncanny coincidences and the work of individuals.  The reality is that Rey directly and strongly supported programs that allowed students to be more successful.  Rey recognized that MSA students were not only achieving artistic success, they were also bringing strong academic achievement, creativity and a dedication to the school.  His support and unquestioned belief in MSA was crucial to the programs success and growth.  Rey also recognized that ROTC was not just a military program but a valuable support network for a whole segment of the school population that had been overlooked.  ROTC students’ academic improvement was one of the reasons why Novato High improved STAR scores.  He did the same thing for the AVID, A.P. and Honors Program.  People might say that “well, the teachers did the work” and they would be right but they might not be aware that it was Rey, who approved the name change of the “Lecture Hall” to the Performing Arts Center and converted it from a weight room to a theater so arts students had a place other than the “Old Gym” to showcase their talents.  It was Rey who gave the old Marin Oaks wing to ROTC so they would have the space to create a classroom, learning center and base of operations.  It was Rey who came to Novato High with the belief that all students should be able to take A.P. classes if they were willing to take the challenge.  He often meets personally with students to discuss the risks and rewards resulting in a huge increase in students taking A.P. and Honors classes. 

 

Another of Rey’s overlooked skills is that he knows how to diffuse a crisis before it explodes.  Novato High School had several crises including untimely student deaths and racial tensions.  Some people may remember several years back when students around the state walked out of school to protest against state anti-immigration policies.  Although students walked out of several Novato schools, none walked out of Novato.  Part of that was because our students trust Mr. Mayoral and believe that he supports them.  The other reason is that Rey was standing out in front of the school and directly confronted the students who were trying to leave and sent them back to class. 

 

From day one at the school Rey Mayoral always believed that one of the most important parts of school leadership was having a safe school.  Rey backed that up with a firm and consistent policy of zero tolerance for fighting, hazing, bullying or harassment.  At the start of each school year, Rey speaks to the entire student body and says in no uncertain terms, “If you are in a gang, I don’t want you here and I’ll do everything in my power to get you out if you don’t follow school rules.”  Rey gave a similar speech about drugs and alcohol on campus.  It sounds harsh but students got the message and fighting and gang related activities were radically reduced making the Novato High a very safe campus. 

 

From day one, Rey made it clear that he doesn’t like a bad looking campus.  He wants it neat, groomed and attractive.  Within a couple of years of his administration the brown lawns and dead trees were replaced with green spaces often planted with now 30 foot tall oaks.  Rey spearheaded the creation of attractive courtyards with benches.  Where formerly no students went, they now eat lunch daily.  It was under Rey’s school beautification leadership that the landscaping of the front of the school was done with the help of the PTSA and the students and teachers of the ROTC.    

 

As an administrator, I know that Rey also has the courage to do the hard part of the job.  He has the strength to stand up to an out of line parent when are insulting or threatening staff members, he is not afraid have that tough talk (and I mean tough) with teachers that were not fulfilling their job duties, and although sensitive to students would directly confront students who violated the most serious school rules.

 

In a month Rey Mayoral will retire after 10 years of success as Principal of Novato High School and 10 years of success for Novato High School.   Take the opportunity to thank him for the job he did transitioning Novato High School into the new century and turning it into the exemplary school that the entire community is proud.

 

 

Mark Peabody

Retired Assistant Principal of Novato High School and Director of Marin School of the Arts

 

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