Mayfair Middle and High School is welcoming a new principal, Mr. Sean Diaz.
Mr. Diaz has been in education for more than 30 years. He graduated in 1990 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He went there for his bachelor’s, majoring in English. What’s interesting is that, “[he] changed his major junior year in college and nearly all the classes he had during his senior year were English classes.” He got his teaching credential and then his Master's in Education with an emphasis on Technology and Leadership from California State University, Los Angeles.
Mr. Diaz has been involved in education in many capacities, including coaching and in school activities. Mr. Diaz’s journey in education includes working for Tustin Unified School District, where he oversaw child welfare and mental health support services for students; teaching at Glendora High School, and recently serving as an administrator at Upland High School before coming to Mayfair. However, his experience with Bellflower Unified School District is not new as he worked at Bellflower High School from 2001-2004 as the athletic director, activities director, and yearbook adviser.
He sees the opportunity of being Mayfair’s principal as a great one that comes with many responsibilities. He says what brought him to Mayfair is, “the opportunity to lead a great school [and]what an amazing opportunity in the middle of a school year.” Since working for BUSD, he has always thought that Mayfair would be a great school to be the principal. “There aren’t many schools like this and I say this in all of the reverence and admiration,” he expressed.
There are many improvements that Mayfair needs in order for students to succeed. Mr. Diaz is planning on improving the school, understanding that “success is a process, an ongoing process.” Additionally, he says, “Right now I am still assessing the needs of the school and walking around campus to see what the school needs improvement on.” Mr. Diaz is spending this spring getting to know our campus and faculty, hoping to hear directly from the staff about the things they would like to see changed.
Mr. Diaz says that Mayfair’s greatest strength is “the students and the staff, and how this school is a community-based school which we need to build upon” Our weakness, he says, is something that is not only seen at Mayfair: “Students adapting to going back to school.”
Since the school year is coming to an end and there isn’t much that can be changed in only a couple of months left of the second semester, Mr. Diaz hopes to accomplish many things including making sure students get to class on time and focus on their education without being distracted.“Having a great school facility – one that students, staff, and community can be proud – of is important,” he said. “When being in a leadership position, it is important to know the people that you are working alongside.
In his free time, Mr. Diaz loves spending time with his family. He cherishes every moment with his family. He is active, and a lover of the arts, and he used to own a graphic design company. His hobbies revolve around building things. Also, he is very passionate about volunteering in many places, including serving as district administrator of Little League International in San Gabriel Valley. He mentions that, “My career in education helps me provide a good volunteer base in taking an educational approach.”
Mr. Diaz says His "Education philosophy at Mayfair is the concept of being water. Water finds things to get done, water is a powerful element and we are the Monsoons and part of the monsoon is water.” He also adds, “I want our students to be resilient and flexible, and I want our teachers to find a way to connect to their students as well as ways for students to connect with their teachers. And this is what water does, it adapts, whether you put it in a small container or a big bottle.”