I just celebrated my 10th Fourth of July in Gilroy with my family, friends and neighbors. My first Independence Day in Gilroy was a little different. At that time, my three children were babies who were both fascinated and terrified by the fireworks display at Gilroy High School. Now they are more intent on arguing over who gets first use of the lighter to set off the fireworks in front of our driveway.
Over the years, they have grown to love our local block party. This year, our block party remained safe and sane. Nobody used illegal fireworks. Right around the corner, another block party featured legal and illegal fireworks. Why are so many parents willing to use illegal fireworks, willing to chance causing a fire, willing to break the law?
Wanted: high school principal to start ASAP. With the resignation of Bob Bravo, Gilroy Unified finds itself once again searching for a principal to lead its flagship school. As luck would have it, they are again looking to replace a principal who resigned after the end of the school year. The replacement for Bob Bravo will be a defining moment for this school district and Superintendent Edwin Diaz. Why rush a defining moment? Certainly, any current high school principal who has a good track record will not be looking for employment less than eight weeks before the start of the school year. And if they are willing to leave their current employer on short notice, that doesn’t bode well for GUSD unless we want to be doing this same summer search every couple of years.
GUSD should hire an interim principal to replace Bob Bravo. There are many experienced administrators who do this effectively. There are great “short-term” administrators just as there are great interim CEOs. The district should seriously consider this option. The chances of finding a highly qualified principal over the course of the next six to 12 months are considerably better than finding an outstanding candidate over the next six weeks.
Outgoing principal Bob Bravo’s strength was his relationship with his peers, staff and other administrators. He was a team player, and GUSD loves team players. His weakness was his inability to deal with the community outside of GUSD. He had trouble dealing with many of the parents.
When you are the face of the only high school in Gilroy, you need charisma. I know that Mr. Bravo was appointed, he did not seek the job. I give him credit for stepping into a job he never sought. The GHS principal needs to buy into Gilroy. The principal needs to be involved in the Garlic Festival, or Rotary, or Leadership Gilroy. The principal needs to be a public person, because this position is just about as visible as that of the superintendent.
Finally, the next principal at Gilroy High needs to be someone who recognizes academic excellence. This person should have demonstrable results of improvement at their current school. The next principal of Gilroy High should be able to look at the programs and courses offered and make teaching changes where appropriate. The next principal must reward those teachers who do an outstanding job with ELL’s or AP students and be willing to reassign teachers who are not being successful in their current placement.
The next principal must be someone who is willing to be a role model. Most important though, the new principal must be someone who the entire community can look at knowing that this person was not “the best we could do on short notice.”
