The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education approved the appointment of three new administrators at its June 6 meeting.
The appointments were Dr. Susan Samarge-Powell as Principal at Webster Elementary School; Paula Lytz as Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School; and Tristen Macon as Assistant Principal at Roosevelt Elementary School.
Susan Samarge-Powell has been with SMMUSD for 17 years.
She began her career teaching at Will Rogers, and was Assistant Principal at Will Rogers from 2000-2003.
She served as Coordinator, Teacher Support for 7 years, and since 2008 has been Director of BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment) for the district.
She served as Interim Principal at Webster Elementary in 2010.
Additionally, she has served as Principal of the district-wide Intensive Intervention Summer School.
As Director of BTSA, Dr. Samarge-Powell has developed and implemented the professional development that all new teachers receive in their first two years with SMMUSD.
She has extensive background in teacher training and assessment, and has done individual coaching for teachers to improve classroom instruction.
As Assistant Principal, Dr. Samarge-Powell led a group that designed a character development curriculum, and worked with stake-holders to implement a school-wide discipline program.
She joins the Webster team with instructional and managerial leadership skills, along with the commitment to collaborate with all stakeholders.
It is her goal to fulfill the Webster vision statement: “To work together with staff, parents and community members to create a joyous and caring learning environment in which all students are supported, challenged and successful.”
Paula Lytz comes to SMMUSD from Hamilton School (K-8) in Novato, California, where she has been serving as Assistant Principal.
She also served as an Administrative Intern at Bay Middle School in Ohio.
Lytz taught Spanish at Burlingame Intermediate School, Bay Middle School and Western Middle School in Connecticut.
She has also taught English as a Second Language, and served as Department Chair for both Foreign Language and ESL Departments.
As Assistant Principal, Lytz worked on master schedule development, classified and certificated evaluations, site safety, and emergency preparedness planning.
She designed and implemented a successful progressive discipline system, resulting in a 30 percent decrease in middle school discipline referrals.
Lytz taught all middle school grades during her 15 years in the classroom, and served as a Mentor Teacher.
She is looking forward to working with the administrative team as they continue to ensure that Lincoln MS provides a program that focuses on achievement, academic growth and success for all.
Tristen Macon began her teaching career at LaTijera Elementary in Inglewood.
She came to SMMUSD in 2000 and has taught at Will Rogers and at McKinley Elementary.
For three years, Macon served as Math Coordinator and EETT (Enhancing Education Through Technology) Coordinator in Educational Services.
She is a National Board Certified teacher and received a Cotsen Art of Teaching fellowship.
Macon has extensive background in mathematics and technology.
As Math Coordinator, she facilitated a group of teachers to create district formative and summative math assessments for grades K-8, and worked with teachers and administrators to create a strategic plan for mathematics improvement.
She supervised the implementation of the district-wide EETT grant and led professional development in the area of technology integration.
She also trained over 100 teachers in the use of SMART Boards in the classroom.
Macon brings her skills and experience to Roosevelt Elementary School with a commitment to increasing student achievement and collaborating with teachers and parents.
