“It’s been an honor”: McHale resigns as principal

PHOTO: Tom McHale announced that he will finish out the 2021-2022 school year as principal before leaving.

By Max Davis-Housefield & Genna Olavarri,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

DHS principal Tom McHale announced on March 14 that he will be leaving the school at the end of this year to explore other opportunities in education. This caps off 28 years of service to the school.  

McHale began teaching U.S. government and history at DHS in January of 1994. After years of teaching, he took on the role of vice principal in 2009 before becoming principal in 2017. 

“It’s been an honor and pleasure working with really talented and creative and dedicated teachers and classified staff,” he said. 

DHS has been a home for his entire family. His wife, Naoko McHale, teaches Japanese and both of their daughters attended the school. 

“They were a little bit sad to hear (that) I was no longer a teacher. I think they were both hoping to have me as their teacher,” McHale said, “(but) they had fantastic teachers here in my stead.”

One of those teachers was Kevin Williams, who taught U.S. history alongside McHale for many years before teaching both of his daughters. 

Williams has fond memories of both teaching and traveling with McHale. The pair journeyed to Germany in 2006 to learn about the German educational system. They were part of a delegation from Davis who were special guests of the German government.

On a trip to England, McHale noticed that “I was really taken by the Mark Rothko exhibit at the Tate Modern and was kind enough to buy me a Rothko book which I still cherish,” Williams said. 

Scott Richardson teaches science at DHS. He said that McHale has been “very professional, very diligent. A great teacher and as an administrator, a great listener, willing to hear a variety of sides of issues and really carefully weigh the pros and cons.”

During his tenure as principal, McHale faced many unexpected challenges — most notably, the pandemic. 

“It really required a lot of teamwork,” he said. “(People) coming together to really …  help everyone make it through some very uncertain times, uncharted territory.” 

Both Richardson and Williams agree that despite the challenges of the job, McHale excelled as principal. 

“Every DHS principal faces the same challenges — a large school with high academic expectations that can sometimes move our focus away from students who don’t necessarily fit the stereotype. McHale was tireless in trying to create an atmosphere where everyone can succeed,” Williams said. 

McHale will leave behind a legacy at DHS. He has worked to support both student and staff mental health throughout distance learning and the return to in-person school. 

“We had to make sure that students,  as they came back, had a safe place to go and to be while they were assimilating back into school,” head counselor Catherine Pereira said. 

McHale advocated for the creation of the Calm Space as well as extended time in next year’s schedule to continue to provide opportunities to connect with students and provide mental health support. 

“We’ve advocated for programs that we thought would help students,” Pereira said. “And he’s always had our backs and just appreciated the ideas and gave us the opportunities to run with it.”

According to McHale, the “crown jewel” of his achievements is the Academic Center which supports “hundreds” of students each year through UC Davis tutors.

He also worked to expand the career tech education pathways available to students at DHS.

McHale does not know what lies ahead for him, but he hopes to explore other options in education. “I don’t know where those will take me,” he said. 

The Davis school district is beginning the process of selecting a new principal. It has hired a professional recruitment firm, Leadership Associates to lead the search. An interview panel of staff and administration will include two student and two parent representatives.

Led by search consultant Dr. Jacki Horejs, the process will seek to identify what all interested parties want to see in the next principal.

McHale would advise the next principal to “work closely with all the wonderful individuals that are here to make our school a great place … our parents, (our) staff. Get to know the students well and connect with them on a personal level.”

“I made a lot of great friends and a lot of wonderful memories,” McHale said. “I think the future of our school is very bright.”