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Micaela Philpot, principal of Sonoma Valley High School and a 35-year veteran of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District, announced Monday she plans to retire at the end of the school year.

Philpot, who has been principal at SVHS since 2006, said she will step down effective June 30, 2010. Philpot said she is retiring, "with mixed feelings. I will miss the students and the staff, but I am looking forward to other opportunities where I can continue to serve my community. The school culture at Sonoma Valley High is positive and inclusive, and I feel good about leaving on a high note. I am truly blessed to have found a career that has brought me so much joy and fulfillment."

Stating that she has worked with "amazing teachers and incredible administrators," Philpot, a Glen Ellen resident, said she feels fortunate to have worked for so many years in the district where her children have been raised and educated. "While we are happy that Micaela will be able to engage in new community service opportunities, we will greatly miss her expertise and strong commitment to our educational system," said Dr. Pamela Martens, SVUSD superintendent. "The trustees and staff express sincere appreciation to Micaela for her many years of devoted service to the students of our district, and we wish her the very best in this new phase of her life."

Philpot began her teaching career in Sonoma Valley in 1975 at El Verano Elementary School. She taught reading, fourth grade and kindergarten during her 15-year tenure at El Verano. Next she taught sixth- and seventh-grade math and art for four years at Altimira Middle School.

In 1995, she was named principal at Dunbar Elementary School and three years later, she became principal of Altimira Middle School, where she served for eight years before being selected as high school principal. In the spring of 2008, Philpot was asked to resign by the retiring school superintendent, Barbara Young, despite exemplary reviews and widespread support from parents and teaching staff. Supporters then trooped en masse to a school board meeting and pleaded for the board to reverse its decision. In an unusual departure from standard protocol on personnel issues, the board listened to the public and reversed its decision, withdrawing its acceptance of her resignation.

Philpot said Monday her decision to resign has nothing to do with the past, that she is leaving on a positive note, and looks forward to new opportunities in the Sonoma Valley.

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