Mark Eliot, Director of Communications and Public Information for the Tustin Unified School District, has announced he will retire at the end of the school year. His last day will be June 30.
Eliot has worked in public education for 36 years – all in Tustin Unified. He was hired in August 1985 as the District’s first communications specialist and was promoted to director of communications and public information in 2001.
“It has been a privilege and an honor of a lifetime to serve the Tustin Unified community,” Eliot said. “I am proud to have known and work with so many hard-working and dedicated employees, involved and caring parents, and supportive community members focused on helping TUSD continue its legacy of excellence in education.”
During his career in Tustin Unified, Eliot has handled communications, media relations, community relations, marketing, District publications and materials, social media and printing services. For 17 years, he has collaborated with School News Roll Call magazine to promote excellence in TUSD. Eliot has started and coordinated several programs, including Classified Employee of the Year, Teacher of the Year and Principal for a Day in which community members serve as “principals” at the schools. He has also helped organize the Tustin School Management’s Association (TSMA) “Friends of Tustin Schools” Community Recognition Dinner for the past 34 years and TSMA’s Secretaries Day Breakfast for over 20 years.
Eliot has been involved in many milestone events for TUSD, such as organizing dedication ceremonies for the Barry Turner Athletic Field behind Foothill High School and Gerry Aust Activity Center at Hewes Middle School, and planning groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings for every new school built in the District since 1995 – Heritage, Hicks Canyon, Ladera, Myford, Peters Canyon, Red Hill and Tustin Ranch elementary schools; Orchard Hills School; Pioneer Middle School; Beckman High School; and Legacy Magnet Academy, which opened last fall. He has also worked on three successful bond measure campaigns – Measures G and L (improve older school facilities) and Measure S (upgrade instructional technology), and has helped organize California Distinguished School and National Blue Ribbon School celebrations at many schools.
Over the years, Eliot has assisted the TUSD Board of Education in recognizing thousands of students, staff, parents and community members at more than 500 school board meetings. He also works with the District’s high school student board members, who present news about their schools and districtwide reports each month at the Board meetings.
Eliot has maintained strong relationships with many community organizations, including the Assistance League of Tustin, Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts (TACFA), Tustin Area Historical Society and Museum, Tustin Chamber of Commerce, Tustin Community Foundation, Tustin Public Schools Foundation (TPSF) and Tustin-Santa Ana Rotary Club. He serves on the Rotary Club Board as Youth Service Director and oversees the Arbor Day program for third-grade students, Gerry Aust High School Scholarships Program, High School Students of the Quarter and Teacher Good Idea Awards program. He has also volunteered at TACFA’s Broadway in the Park program, TPSF’s Dinosaur Dash, Tustin Chili Cook-off and Street Fair, and Tustin Tiller Days.
Among his accomplishments, Eliot has won Excellence in Communications awards from the California School Public Relations Association, received the PTA/PTO Coordinating Council’s Special Recognition Award, was nominated as Tustin Area Man of the Year four times – 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2014, and was named one of the Tustin Community Foundation’s 2019 Superheroes of Tustin for recognition of outstanding community work.
Prior to joining Tustin Unified, Eliot worked in newspaper, magazine, radio and television. He started his career as Promotion and Public Relations Director for KWIZ AM/FM Radio in Orange County. Eliot is also an award-winning cartoonist and graphic designer. He graduated in journalism and public relations from California State University, Long Beach. Most importantly, he is the proud father of his daughter, Ashley, a graduate in communications from California State University, Fullerton, and communications specialist in the music and hospitality industries.
“Mark is a dedicated employee and outstanding individual who has played an integral role in the changes and growth in the District over the last four decades,” TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gregory Franklin said. “His valuable contributions to the Tustin Unified community are greatly appreciated and he will be missed.”