As the students at the Back of the Yards Campus arrived for their first day of school on Tuesday, they were greeted at the door with a smile and a handshake, standard procedure at San Miguel.  But this time, they were welcomed by new Co-Principals, Kate Seche and Tad Smith, ready and excited for the new school year.

As former Principal Mike Anderer-McClelland became the new President and Executive Director, Kate and Tad were promoted to Co-Principals, ensuring the integrity, quality and continuity of the middle school and family and graduate support programs.

Coming to San Miguel with nearly ten years of both administrative and teaching experience, Kate holds a B.A. in History and Elementary Education as well as two Masters in Curriculum & Instruction and Administration & School Leadership.  Fluent in Spanish, Kate also has an endorsement in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction.  In addition, she has managed curriculum development and assessment initiatives in her previous roles.  After spending one year as the Assistant Principal, Kate is eager to continue as Co-Principal with Tad.  

"Working at the school has provided me with the opportunity to experience a learning environment in which the education and community outreach components have been fully integrated," Kate says.  She continues, "The benefits for the students and their families that come from the effective organization of the staff and resources are simply tremendous."  Taking the reigns as Co-Principal, Kate looks forward to the new school year ahead.  "We have a talented and dedicated staff who work to ensure that the needs of every student are met each day."  

Tad Smith was born and raised in southern California and educated in Catholic schools from grade school to college.  Education was his second career, entering the field as a Lasallian volunteer.  For the first five years, he taught high school in Bronx, New York before returning to California to teach middle school in Santa Ana.  Tad arrived at San Miguel in 2002 and has served as a 6th and 8th grade teacher.  In addition to serving as Co-Principal, Tad will continue to teach 8th grade as the leader for the 8th grade teaching team.  "The work done at San Miguel makes good sense to me," says Tad.  "Invest the time and resources necessary for kids to start high school prepared to succeed, and avoid a whole host of problems down the road."  This philosophy, while simple, is one of the driving forces behind the mission of San Miguel.  

Longer school days, a focus on math, reading and language arts, a 9 to 1 student teacher ratio, are just some of the ways San Miguel works to transform lives and neighborhoods.  While the graduation rate for high school in the Back of the Yards neighborhood is approximately 44%, San Miguel students graduate at a rate of 84%.  

These Co-Principals are prepared to face the challenges that exist in the Back of the Yards neighborhod including drugs, violence, gangs and poverty.  However it is with education, commitment and love that they continue the San Miguel mission and guide these students through middle school, high school and beyond.