After nearly four decades at Los Altos High School, Principal Wynne Satterwhite announced on Friday, April 7, that she plans to retire after this school year.

Satterwhite first came to work at the high school as a substitute teacher in 1985 and has led the school since 2004. In an interview, Satterwhite expressed her love for the high school and community, describing it as the place where she grew up.

"I say this all the time and I just can't reiterate it enough – it's the best job I think anyone could ever have and it's given me so much," Satterwhite said. "It's just been fun."

The district announced that it will work with external search firm Leadership Associates to find Satterwhite's successor. The plan is to gather community input at a meeting some time this month and find a new principal by the end of the school year, Superintendent Nellie Meyer told the Voice.

Meyer praised Satterwhite's leadership at the high school, noting that at this point she has hired nearly every staff member on campus, shaping the entire culture of the school.

Long time Assistant Principal Galen Rosenberg also plans to retire this school year, Satterwhite said.

"She will be missed – I will miss her personally and professionally," Meyer said. "She just really has been so dedicated to Los Altos and the district as a whole."

Satterwhite said that she decided to retire now in part because the series of major bond-funded construction projects are nearly complete and she wanted to get those finished before passing the baton to a new leader. The school's new administrative offices and student union space are currently being finished.

In her retirement, Satterwhite plans to spend more time with her family, including her husband and their parents, as well as visiting national parks.

When Satterwhite first came to Los Altos High School in her early 20s, she said there were few teaching jobs available in California and she took a position as a substitute science teacher at Los Altos High. Over the coming decades, she would serve in various capacities at the school, including as a teacher, counselor and assistant principal.

"I feel so fortunate that I was given a great number of opportunities in this district to really grow and expand what I did and what I do," Satterwhite said.

In the past four decades, Satterwhite said she has seen the school change along with the greater Bay Area. Satterwhite described the growth of Silicon Valley as bringing unique opportunities for students, as well as stresses that the district has tried to address.

Getting to work with students and watch them develop and mature as people has been an honor, Satterwhite said. She said that she has never understood why some people don't like high schoolers and that she appreciates how students in that age group learn to ask questions and not accept things at face value.

"Nurturing that inquisitiveness and that ability to ask those questions, is the things that we need to be doing as adults," Satterwhite said. "To be able to do that for almost 40 years – what a gift."