Dear John Muir Community,

I am thrilled to write this letter to you as your newly appointed principal. It is truly an honor and a longtime dream of mine to serve in this role at a school with such rich traditions, a strong sense of community, supportive and dedicated staff, and great students. This community has become my extended family this past year, and I am grateful for your support. I would also like to thank Alana for all her work and acknowledge the big shoes I must fill. I am eager and ready to rise to the challenge.

Although I have met many of you around school this year, I want to take this opportunity to share a bit about myself. I was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. I received my bachelor’s and teaching certificate from Arizona Christian University. I then spent many years in the classroom before returning to graduate school. I went to Grand Canyon University and received my masters in educational administration as well as my principal licensure. After moving from Arizona to Washington, I became passionate about school leadership and was excited and grateful to have the opportunity to join the John Muir family.

When I’m not at school, I enjoy spending time with my future wife, Ariel, and our dog Zen. Together, we love to travel and try new restaurants. I also enjoy watching new TV shows, sports, reading, and staying current with the best practices in education. 

I want to take a moment to share my vision for our school, which resonates deeply with who I am as an educator and as a person.

First and foremost, we will work together to create a community that radiates with positivity, kindness, and inclusivity. Every student should feel a profound sense of belonging, safety, and support at Muir from the first moment they walk into our building. And they should be able to draw upon that feeling when they leave our halls each and every day. 

As we all know, it is crucial that we strengthen our school-wide systems and processes. Clear and open communication, collaboration, and shared decision-making will be at the heart of our work. Teams will begin this work right away and I truly value the voices of our families, so please reach out if you would like to collaborate on this over the summer.

We are lucky to have educators at Muir who are deeply committed to learning and growing in their professional practices. I am dedicated to providing our staff with the support, resources, and professional development opportunities needed to grow and strengthen their practices. Together we can cultivate a school built on equity, critical thinking, justice, and innovation.

Finally, I am a firm believer in the power of student voice. Our students are the heart and soul of our school, and their dreams, stories, cultures, and ideas should be valued, nurtured, and given a platform to shine. I am committed to finding ways for our young leaders to become active participants in their learning and to find opportunities for student leadership within our school and beyond.

By fostering strong relationships with our families and community members we will meet our shared vision for John Muir Elementary. I will continue to be the servant leader that you all have become accustomed to and will always lead with the students’ interests at the forefront.

So… Lion up, let’s roll! We have great work to do!

All the best,

Quinta Thomas