We don’t presume to know what transpired to cause Sonoma Valley Unified School District Superintendent Barbara Young to lose confidence in Sonoma Valley High School Principal Micaela Philpot. Young had appointed Philpot a year and a half ago to the interim position at the high school, plucking her from Altimira Middle School, the District’s second largest. Then she chose her a second time, just last year, following a full selection process involving outside consultants to solicit, review and recommend candidates for consideration.
Nor will we ever know what happened, as personnel decisions are rightly private matters. Interestingly, the accreditation committee from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges that just visited the high school had reported observing “a dedicated site administrative staff that appear [sic] to be supporting innovative changes and facilitating the empowerment of the current staff,” noting “an improvement in leadership.” The report further noted, as a positive new development, “a sense of collaboration and team effort” between the high school and district office.
We do know, as we’ve said before, that Barbara Young is sharp and professional, and we’ve admired her tenure, though short, in the district. That’s what makes this timing so difficult to understand. Young is retiring in June, and the school board trustees are in the middle of the search to replace her. So it would have seemed appropriate to wait and let the new superintendent select the principal for the district’s biggest school.
Half the solution, actually, is at the high school already: long-time Vice-Principal Glenn Moll. He knows every system at the school, and the staff knows him. He didn’t (so far as we know) apply for the permanent job last year, so he could easily be the interim principal to start the 2008-2009 school year.
That would allow some adjustment time for the new superintendent, who can then appoint a new principal when it’s comfortable, whether mid-year or at the start of the following year, or even at the start of this coming year. The relationship between high school principal and district superintendent is an important one, and if the new superintendent does not mesh well with a principal newly selected by the outgoing superintendent, we may experience yet another short-lived administration at the high school.
Young’s apparent rush to replace Philpot before her own retirement is tough to fathom. While likely this affair will be little remembered in a few years, we suggest now that the school board consider asking Young to refrain from replacing Philpot, leaving that for the new superintendent, and to appoint Moll as interim principal.
Speaking of High School
Some of us caught recent performances of the Sonoma Valley High School Drama Club’s “Evening of Theatrical Treasures.” It was delightful, and so heartening to see eager high school students developing new talents.
The direction of self-proclaimed “coarse actors” Philip Sales and Jim Kent called for the actors to play actors who are, well, acting – to hilarious effect. Props go awry, intentionally; scenery falls, entrances are reversed and urns spew endlessly. It’s said that great skill is needed to look clumsy, and we suspect that’s true.
All the performances were enjoyable, and a few students especially stood out, including the multi-talented David DeSmet, the deadpan Ellen Labitske, the smiling Dominic Amara and the boisterous Christian Weiss. And three seem destined for careers in entertainment – the delightful Kate Horn, the elegant Paige Haber and the suave Gabriel Velasco.
Bravo!
