Mayra Canizales

Ms. Mayra Canizales has been the proud principal of Oyster-Adams since July 2014. Srta. Canizales has served the students of Washington, DC since 2009. She began her career in DC Public Schools as a 6th grade English language arts teacher at Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) where she helped develop the dual-language program for the middle school. In 2012, she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award by DCPS and the DC Public Education Fund and transitioned into school leadership as an instructional coach at CHEC. In 2013, she became an assistant principal at CHEC and lead the middle school and English Department. Srta. Canizales has also served as a teaching faculty member for the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, a Teaching for Results seminar leader for The New Teacher Project, and a curriculum and instruction fellow for the DCPS Teachers Central to Leadership program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies and urban educational policy from University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in elementary education from Boston College. OA's mission resonates deeply with Srta. Canizales, as a daughter of immigrants, a first generation college student, a former English language learner, and a product of bilingual school programming. Srta. Canizales is a native Spanish speaker and a balanced, bi-literate bilingual. She grew up in Hayward, California, and loves Washington DC's spirit of ambition and innovation.