Marin School Names New Principal

SAN RAFAEL, CA — San Rafael High School will have a new principal later this year.

Outgoing Lowell High of San Francisco Principal Joe Ryan Dominguez has been tapped at the Marin school’s top administrator, San Rafael City Schools Superintendent Jim Hogeboom said in a statement.

Dominguez will replace outgoing San Rafael Principal Glenn Dennis, The Marin Independent Journal reports. Dennis will take continue working in the district in an unspecified role, according to the report.

Dominguez made headlines earlier this year when he resigned from Lowell, an elite San Francisco public high school currently embroiled in controversy over its decision to ditch its merit-based admissions policy.

Dominguez earlier this month announced his resignation from Lowell at the end of this school year, issuing tough criticism of the San Francisco Unified School District in a letter obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.

Dominguez had just assumed his role as Lowell’s top administrator in September.

“The decision to leave SFUSD is solely based on my desire to apply my passion for education in a district that values its students and staff through well organized systems, fiscal responsibility and sound instructional practices as the path towards equity,” Dominguez wrote.

“Change is difficult and our campus has seen more than its fair share of it in the last several years.”

Dominguez’s decision to accept the San Rafael position follows reporting in The Chronicle that he’d taken a position at an Arizona school district.

Dominguez launched his career as an educator in Arizona and eventually served as an assistant principal at a school in Tempe.

He joined the SFUSD in 2019 as a Lowell assistant principal before being promoted as the school’s top educator last year.

“During the rigorous selection process, Mr. Dominguez rose to the top as a passionate and accomplished educational leader with proven expertise in serving diverse populations,” Hogeboom said in a statement.

“He leads with the belief that success is possible for each and every student, while ensuring a culture of excellence and collaboration and providing best practices to deliver a well-rounded and rigorous education. Mr. Dominguez has extensive experience working with communities of rich culture and linguistic diversity. I am confident that he has the instructional skills and personal qualities to further enrich the school community and improve student achievement in partnership with teachers, staff and families.”