Aliyya Swaby Photo
Two of three current Principals Baker and Diah at a March alder hearing.
Superintendent Garth Harries plans Monday to start the search for one principal to lead Hillhouse High School — after months of debate citywide surrounding the school’s management.
Harries sent a letter Thursday to the school community announcing his decision to post for one principal to be confirmed by the Board of Education mid-May and to assume the position July 1. He met with teachers to tell them in person Friday and plans to meet with the student council Monday.
“The leadership structure had become a distraction and an obstacle,” Harries told the Independent Friday. “The point has never been three principals for the sake of three principals.”
Click here to read the full letter.
Hillhouse has been divided into four mini-“academies,” with separate principals, aimed at giving students at the struggling school more individualized attention. Parents and students and teachers have complained repeatedly about problems with that new system since the school year began.
At a hearing before the Board of Alders in mid-March, alumni, students, teachers and community members gathered to paint a picture of a school with too many leaders, an inconsistent grading system, unfilled teacher vacancies and poor scheduling. Principals Zakiyyah Baker and David Diah said then that they were aware of the problems and needed more time to be able to thoroughly address them.
Board of Education members Ed Joyner and Darnell Goldson — who have personal connections to the school — have loudly called for district officials to cut the number of its principals down to one. Goldson said at a recent Operations and Finance Committee meeting that he would not vote for a budget with three Hillhouse principal salaries. He called for two principal salaries to be cut, and for that money to stay in the school’s budget to be used for other expenses.
When asked whether their statements had any bearing on his decision, Harries said, “There were a lot of factors involved” in the decision process.
Students and teachers at the Board of Alders hearing and tour of the school said they appreciated the personalized learning opportunities at the school’s mini-academies, but not the way they were managed. Supporters of the academy system call it a way to personalize learning in a big school, to give students more individualized attention, as part of a broader effort to improve education at Hillhouse, which has posted low test scores over the years.
Harries said the academy system will remain at Hillhouse, though the principal might make “adjustments.”
Current principals Baker, Diah and Fallon Daniels are welcome to apply for the position, he said. A committee of parents, teachers and students will help screen candidates and make recommendations for the hire.
“Hiring one principal supports the idea of having a family with three academies within,” he said. “It’s helpful, but by no means the only thing.” The school community will need a period of “restoration” and “collective responsibility for the future” of the school, he said, in order to continue its academic gains.
He said he hopes to ask the Board of Ed to approve the hire by the second Board of Ed meeting in May. He said it has not yet been determined whether any of the principals would stay on assistant principals or if they would be reassigned to other jobs.
In a letter sent Thursday explaining the move to the Hillhouse community, Harries cited progress in kids’ education:
“In two short years, the academies of Hillhouse have seen close to a 20 point gain in the promotion rate of 9th graders, which is the key academic hurdle for high school success,” Harries wrote. “Rates of course failure have dropped precipitously. More than a hundred students have earned a variety of industry certifications. With this momentum as backdrop, I want to be clear and public in my support for the principals who have led the transition to the academies – this decision does not and should not reflect on the abilities of Ms. Baker, Ms. Daniels, and Mr. Diah. My team will work to ensure continuity in the good work of the academies, along with continued leadership opportunities for these pioneering leaders that reflect their abilities and potential.”