Criteria for New BHS Principal

Earlier this year, Berkeley High School principal Jim Slemp announced that he was retiring after seven years as head of BHS. Mr. Slemp is retiring because the job of being principal at BHS is extremely time consuming and he wants to spend more time with his family. Over the seven years that he was here he made many changes, including the start of small learning communities, which have had a positive effect on BHS. With principal Slemp leaving, it is now time to find a new principal—one who will stay, hopefully.

A committee is currently forming to search for a new principal. The criteria for this job are similar to those of the United States presidency. Before Principal Slemp came to this school, the principal’s job seemed jinxed. Five principals came and went in four years, with none lasting more than eighteen months. It took six tries to find a new principal­. This can’t happen again, particularly in times when money is short and expectations are high. We can’t go through six principals before finding the right one again—the school can’t take it. This committee has a very important job: to find a new principal who will keep the school going in the right direction, and who will stick around long enough to make an impact.

One of the most important traits a principal needs in order to do this job at Berkeley High is a talent for control. With a few hundred teachers and a few thousand kids, Berkeley High is one of the tougher schools to run in the area. The new principal needs to stay on top of things, and not let anything slip through the cracks. Such responsibilities include: student court, freshman sports teams, and other aspects of BHS that need funding. The new principal needs to be able to stand strong and overcome the adversity of the job. This includes never–ending complaints from students, disappointed parents and articles that try to criticize his or her opinions. The principal also needs to be able to keep the school together through a common goal, and gallop through any rough patch that presents itself.

Another important skill is communication. In order to see eye–to–eye with students, teachers and parents, communication is vital. Every voice needs to be heard and judged fairly; miscommunications can result in confusion. The new principal must use a strong voice to promote clarity and prevent gossip.

Resourcefulness is also a very important attribute for the new principal to have. Creative ways of getting around budget crises are crucial. We need to find new sources of funding and donations so that we can cut as few programs as possible and let a minimum amount of teachers go.

Lastly, the new principal needs to have a vision for Berkeley High. In times like these, when our school is facing both a myriad of important issues and high expectations, he or she needs to go into the job already thinking about the future. The principal must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, because we have no way of knowing what is coming next.