Principal's Letter

It is an honor to serve as the principal of Thoreau High School. As a proud LAUSD graduate, I began my educational career in 1992 as a teacher's aide at Harding Elementary School. Since then, I have served in various capacities—as a teacher, coordinator, and administrator—for a total of 36 years of service. Throughout the years, I have had many experiences that have shaped my career, working both at school sites and at the District level. During my 36 years with LAUSD, I have worked at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

 

Starting my career with LAUSD in 1992 as a teacher's aide at both the elementary and middle school levels gave me the opportunity to work closely with over 50 teachers. For a young educator completing college at the time, this was a great opportunity to learn from teachers with different levels of experience and diverse teaching styles. When I finished college and was hired for my first teaching job, I was eager to begin putting into practice what I had learned from all the educators I had worked with and observed. 

 

After working as a teacher's aide, I spent the next 10 years working as a middle school teacher. During those ten years, I had many rewarding experiences. I worked at Madison Middle School, a school with a high percentage of ELD students from Latin America and Armenia. Working with our ELD students helped me understand the struggles and dreams of our student body. While at Madison Middle School, I also had the opportunity to serve as a bilingual and intervention coordinator. This role allowed me to create and supervise programs designed to help our students achieve their goals. While at Madison, I worked with special education, ELD, gifted, and magnet students.

 

In 2008, I had the opportunity to participate in the District's Administrators Leadership Academy program (LEAD). In this program, aspiring administrators were given the opportunity to work closely with all of the District’s different departments. Additionally, those of us working at middle schools were sent to high schools for one year, which is how I transitioned to the high school level. I was assigned a mentor principal whom I shadowed for the entire year at East Valley High School. This turned out to be a great learning experience that prepared me for my current role as a principal. Since East Valley High School was a new school at the time, part of my job was to help establish and grow the school alongside the administrative team. 

 

In 2014, I had the opportunity to work at one of LAUSD's local districts in Region North. I worked for the parent unit and was assigned 35 schools. My job was to support these 35 schools with parent and community engagement. This was a highly rewarding position because I had the opportunity to work closely with parents, community partners, and the wonderful support staff who help our schools succeed. Part of my assignment included the 18 continuation, option, and Community Day School (CDS) schools in Region North at the time. As I worked closely with these campuses, I realized that I wanted to become a continuation school principal. 

 

After ten years as a continuation principal, I can truly say that learning from our students, parents, teachers, staff, and community has made me a better educator. It has been a wonderful, growing, and deeply rewarding experience. Please be assured that I am dedicated to Thoreau High School, and I am always willing to make changes and adjustments as needed for the betterment of our students, parents, teachers, staff, and community. 

 

Our small classroom sizes, highly qualified and caring teachers, knowledgeable counselors, friendly clerical staff, and prime location in the southwest San Fernando Valley—combined with our partnerships with Pierce College, West Valley, and Taft High School—offer the unparalleled advantages of a personalized, safe, and successful high school experience for your child. We all work together to provide a professional and welcoming environment for students, parents, and school staff.

 

I look forward to meeting the educational needs of your child. Let’s have a great year of learning!

 

Respectfully,

 

Eric Diaz

Principal, Thoreau High School