May 29, 2013 -- Santa Monica High School will welcome three new principals after the School Board approved the administrators' appointments this month.

The new administrators -- Elias Miles, Kelly Tabis and Blain Watson – will bring a diverse set of experiences to their posts as principals of three of the high school's “houses,” Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) officials said.

Tabis, a former Special Education teacher, is returning to SAMOHI after fiver years as an assistant principal at Beverly Hills High School. Tabis is no stranger to the rigorous of being a high school administrator, district officials said.

“As Assistant Principal, Ms. Tabis created the master schedule for 2,200 students, and managed the discipline, academic progress, attendance and overall educational experience for 860 students,” officials said.

“She developed student study team practices and policies, managed and communicated student 504 plans, and restructured the special education department to bring co-taught classes to the high school,” according to officials.

Her colleagues claim similar accomplishments. Miles served as assistant principal and instructional specialist at Westchester Enriched Science Magnets and oversaw summer classes at Hamilton High School as a summer school principal. He, too, has Special Education experience.

“As Assistant Principal, Mr. Miles co-wrote the school-board-adopted plan to transform Westchester into three science-themed magnets,” officials said. The change resulted in a 42-point leap in the school's Academic Performance Index (API) score.

Miles managed Attendance and Enrollment functions, including an Attendance Plan that “led to the highest attendance in Local District 3,” officials said. “Mr. Miles has focused on innovative, research-based professional development to foster school improvement and achievement for diverse student sub-groups.”

Watson will bring to the table his experience as principal of Animo Locke Tech Charter High School near Watts.

“As Principal, Mr. Watson successfully led a school turnaround project, including providing direction for the planning, development and implementation of the school curriculum,” officials said.

“He developed a progressive student discipline management system that resulted in positive student behavior and a 50 percent reduction in the suspension rate,” according to officials. “The school increased the student average daily attendance rate by 3 percent in three years.”

Before Animo Locke Tech, Watson was principal-in-residence for Green Dot Public Schools - - a network of charter schools in Los Angeles -- and Associate Director at West Adams Prep High School, just west of Downtown Los Angeles.