As the 2019 school year comes to a close, the community learned the sad news that our Head of Upper School was leaving.

Our well-regarded and admired Lolli Lucas is leaving. Whether you had a class with Lolli or you met her as a member of the Laguna Blanca community, you were likely touched by her friendly nature.

Lolli graced our campus for the first time four years ago. Her kindness has affected us all and her students are very thankful to have had her leading and teaching them.

“Lolli is so sweet, and she has brought so much to our community,” freshman Lauren Mills said.

We got to sit down and have a chat with Lolli to discuss her time at Laguna. She says that of all the aspects of Laguna, the community is what made her experience here so memorable.

In addition to her administrative role, Lolli taught two Upper School classes during her four years: Civil Rights and Leadership.

In her Civil Rights class, students learned how to be independent and free-thinking members of society and how to exercise their rights of free speech and to use their voice.

Senior Ty Trosky, a student in the Civil Rights class, said:“Lolli is someone who I look up to and am proud to call my friend. She has taken care of me for the last four years and I don’t know how I would have done it without her.”

According to Lolli, her most rewarding moment as a teacher was “[T]he comfort level that you have with the students at Laguna Blanca, because it is so small, you have this ongoing sort of developing relationship [where] kids really feel comfortable challenging you, but also [want] to be a part of a growth mindset. Everybody’s excited to learn here, so for me, it’s the inspiration behind that.”

Lolli finds the people at Laguna to be different than those at other schools. “People are really intellectually curious here in ways that I think that in some schools it doesn’t have the same sort of stability, but here I think it’s that. I think the most rewarding thing is that people care about growing.”

Lolli has impacted each and every one of our lives tremendously.

Thank you, Lolli for how you have impacted our community. We wish you well in your new position as the Assistant Head of School at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks.

Lolli’s right hand in all things school related is her assistant Tina Braniff who shared her thoughts on working closely with Lolli: ”Lolli is a force of nature, with the quickest mind I’ve seen and the biggest heart. She is a lover of people and an expert at making any situation fun. I’ve learned so much working alongside her and I will surely miss the joy and laughs she brings to Laguna! “