What started as a late-in-the-game, hope-for the-best search for
a new Gilroy High School principal seems to have ended in a rousing
success.
What started as a late-in-the-game, hope-for the-best search for a new Gilroy High School principal seems to have ended in a rousing success.
In hiring 52-year-old James Maxwell last week, Gilroy got what it hoped for: an experienced high school administrator keenly interested in academic success with excellent oral and written communication skills.
In the hiring process, the Gilroy Unified School District also took a step forward by inviting members of the community to become involved in a series of interview panels. The unnecessary paranoia that accompanied the process – the signing of a non-disclosure agreement by panel participants and the secrecy surrounding who was on the panel – hurt the process and didn’t meet the standards the district has set in the Accountability Plan for parental and community involvement. After all, if the public knows who is on the panel, that creates an opportunity for residents who know panel members to make comments or suggestions about what’s needed at Gilroy High.
Still, the district did make progress and, hopefully, will come to an understanding that an open process in key hiring situations is beneficial to the community – even if it creates a bit more difficulty.
So, back to Gilroy High’s new principal. Maxwell has 19 years of administrative experience. He has more than a decade of combined classroom and counseling experience. He has leadership training and a background in math and science – areas that Gilroy High needs help in.
Clearly, he likes data. But what he does with that data will be the key to success, not only internally but within the community. Gilroy is hungry for leadership at our only comprehensive high school and a principal who can be honest in communicating the challenges and goals will be welcome with open arms.
Building community is crucial, whether it’s contacting the newspaper to talk about coverage that will educate and inform the community about school projects and issues or forming partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce, the City Council or the Rotary Club.
If Maxwell can enlist support and capture ideas about what Gilroyans want at Gilroy High, then he will find a willing group of alumni, parents and community to support the school in more sustained and meaningful ways.
Academic progress and rigor, common-sense solutions to the problems that invariably surface at a 2,400-student high school, a clear vision which sets high expectations and is articulated to the staff, a true effort at community involvement, and communication, communication, communication.
That’s what Gilroy needs.
Our true hope is that Maxwell sets the tone and vision and Gilroy, as a community, builds a high school that is an outstanding example of student success and parental involvement.
