1. Middle School, 700 North Faring Road, Los Angeles, California 90077, Telephone (310) 274-7281
Upper School, 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, California 91604, Telephone (818) 980-6692
HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL
Jeanne M. Huybrechts, Ed.D.
Head of Harvard-Westlake
Recommendation for Paula Evans
December, 2015
As Harvard-Westlake Head of School, I supervise the work of nearly two hundred teachers,
including a twenty-five-member Math department housed on two campuses. I have known
Paula Evans since she began teaching at our school more than fifteen years ago. I have
collaborated with her in leadership endeavors, gratefully championed the creative projects she
has launched for our school, and learned a great deal from her. She is a brilliant teacher, an
imaginative and resourceful school leader, and a consummate professional in all endeavors.
With stellar credentials in both applied mathematics and the teaching of math, Paula was hired in
1999 to teach computer science and math courses. She quickly became a beloved teacher at our
school. Students appreciated her keen intelligence and deep content knowledge and adored her
style – which perfectly balanced the high expectations of a varsity coach with the loving touch of
a school counselor. She was perfectly prepared for every lesson she taught and always available
to her students outside of class – proffering explication and pep-talk in equal measure. Paula’s
leadership capability became apparent right away, and by 2002, she was named department
chair, with responsibilities that included directly leading and managing fifteen (grades 10-12)
mathematics and computer science teachers while collaborating with another dozen math
teachers (and their department chair) at our middle school division, located in another part of the
city. She has recruited, hired, mentored and inspired many, many teachers. She has made tough
decisions – fairly and transparently. Math is among our strongest departments, in large part
because of Paula’s visionary but practical leadership style – her ability to think big-picture and
develop mission while building cohesive teams to implement vision.
Among Ms. Evans’ achievements: She has taught a dozen courses and developed several creative
offerings for our summer program. She has increased faculty use of student-center learning
principles, educational technology, and online support services for students – within her
department and, by extension, throughout the school. (The HW Math Department has led in this.)
Over the past decade she has reduced student attrition in math by 50% and increased the number
of students choosing math “electives” by 30%. (Student enrollment is ~870; enrollment in math
courses is nearly 1100). Student achievement, as measured by external exams, is exceedingly
high. (SAT Math score averages regularly exceed 700). In 2009, Paula organized HW STEM-
Fest, an annual celebration of STEM activity at our school. The event has grown from 20 to over
100 student presenters and now has five corporate sponsors. She helped create and continues to
support several innovative programs, including a student-run online math tutoring service, the

2. Middle School, 700 North Faring Road, Los Angeles, California 90077, Telephone (310) 274-7281
Upper School, 3700 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, California 91604, Telephone (818) 980-6692
School’s robotics team, and HW Inc., an entrepreneurial event for high school students to use
their STEM and business skills to create prototype for ideas to “angel investors.”
Paula Evans is a brilliant and caring teacher, who is adored by her students and admired by her
colleagues. By almost every tangible measure – students’ test scores, numbers of students who
continue to study math, numbers of teachers and students who have benefited from the resources
she has developed for her classes and for our school – she has succeeded as a teacher and as a
teachers’ teacher. An intelligent and well-educated woman with many career options, she chose
to become a teacher and has stayed in the field for more than a quarter century. She is a
wonderful role model for all students, perhaps especially for girls, who correctly see her as a
whip-smart, math-loving, high-functioning woman leader at one of the finest secondary schools
in this country – but also as cool and fun and funny.
I am lucky to work with Paula, proud of her many achievements, and honored to support her.
Please call on me if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Jeanne M. Huybrechts, Ed.D.
Head of Harvard-Westlake
Harvard-Westlake School
3700 Coldwater Canyon
Studio City, CA 91604
818.487.5434
jhuybrechts@hw.com