Dear Dear Mirada Families,

This is my sixth year as principal of the Mirada Learning Community. I feel extremely fortunate to work at such an outstanding school. All of our teachers are highly qualified and committed to our students. We have earned the label of an "Excelling" School, the highest rating possible from the State of Arizona Department of Education for the past five years. Our entire staff is dedicated to your child's academic achievement, as well as their social and emotional development. In short, everyone here wants Mirada to be the most positive experience for you and your children that it can possibly be.

My background in teaching takes me from first grade in Chandler to eighth grade reading and language arts in Kyrene. Prior to coming to Mirada as principal, I served ten years as Assistant Principal at Kyrene Middle School. I completed my undergraduate education work at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri, my graduate work in education at ASU followed by post-graduate work in School Administration. My life outside of school revolves around my children, Cara, who is an MD and lives here in Chandler; Justin, who lives in New York City - works for Spike TV and co-owns a bar in Manhattan and a restaurant in Brooklyn (Vinegar Hill House) and Jordan, my youngest daughter, who works as an academic counselor at the University of Phoenix. My oldest daughter Cara is married to Jason Christ who is a math coach for the Kyrene School District and they have an eighteen month old son, Max, my first and only grandchild. Max is awesome! My children are all products of Kyrene Schools and Corona del Sol High School as well as our state universities...­ASU and U of A, they have all done remarkably well, and I am so proud of each one of them. I am, as my friends know, a "dog person" I have two Great Danes, Zoey and Jackson and they keep me busy and entertained. I love to travel, I love photography, books, the ocean, my friends and I dabble in artistic ventures and home decorating constantly. I am passionate about children and learning and about providing a safe and successful school experience for each child at Mirada.

I have met and come to know many of you through these past five years and this year I hope I get to meet everyone who is new to Mirada or who just has not had the opportunity to meet me personally. I would be thrilled to share with you all the wonderful things our school has to offer your child from amazing technology to reading assistance to gifted math. So please feel free to stop by and visit with me.
I am looking forward to a fantastic sixth year here at Mirada, I hope to see you at one or at all of our many upcoming school events.

Donna Gallaher
Principal

E-mail: DGALLA@kyrene.org