Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS) today announced that Jack Lain, principal at El Camino Real Academy, will leave his position in June. Mr. Lain, who has led El Camino Real for eight years, announced his intentions early “so we can keep El Camino strong.” After a year of travel, he hopes to return to SFPS in another capacity.
“Principal Lain is an amazing leader and phenomenal member of SFPS’ administrative team. Though he will be greatly missed, we are excited by the adventures that await him on his travels. We look forward to his return in another capacity,” said Superintendent Hilario “Larry” Chavez. “Under Mr. Lain’s leadership, El Camino has become distinguished as a multi-cultural, multi-literate community of respectful, kind, responsible and creative learners striving for excellence and for its high-quality dual-language program,” he said.
Superintendent Chavez said a new principal for El Camino Real will be announced in May.
Mr. Lain said, “I consider myself lucky to have had two great jobs I loved–a teacher for 21 years and a principal for nine years. I love the El Camino Real community and it will be sad to leave.”
In addition to serving as principal of El Camino Real Academy, Mr. Lain taught secondary studies and special education at Twin Buttes High School in Zuni and Cochiti Community School in Cochiti. In Santa Fe, was an elementary bilingual teacher at E.J. Martinez and Sweeney Elementary Schools. He was also an assistant principal at Capital High School. Mr. Lain learned Spanish while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala.
He holds two master’s degrees--in Social Studies Education from Teachers College at Columbia University and Special Education from George Washington University. In 2020 he received a New Mexico School Boards Association Excellence in Student Achievement Award and in 2019 he was named Administrator of the Year by the New Mexico Music Educators Association.