District: Di Salvo will not return District: Di Salvo will not return (December 23, 2005)

JLS principal's slot one of three that needs to be filled

by Alexandria Rocha

The parents and teachers of Palo Alto's Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School finally learned last week that Principal Joe Di Salvo will not return next fall from his one-year leave of absence.

After much prodding from some parents -- who became concerned over the summer when they learned an interim principal would lead the site this year -- the school district finally sent out a letter stating Di Salvo is serving on "special assignment" until his resignation kicks in June 30, 2006.

The letter went out the day before the Weekly broke the story that Di Salvo was reportedly forced out of his position.

Details about Di Salvo's resignation remain cloudy and were not addressed in the letter, which was written by Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers. The district is moving forward with a search for a new JLS Middle School principal, Bowers wrote in the letter.

In fact, the district will be looking to fill two other principal slots in 2006.

This year, Fairmeadow Elementary School and Terman Middle School also have interim principals. Judith Barranti was appointed to Fairmeadow's lead post after Bowers took his position at the district level, and Carmen Giedt took over for Larry Thomas at Terman so he could be a stay-at-home dad.

Filling the posts will not be an easy task. Schools throughout the nation are dealing with a shortage of willing and qualified applicants for such positions.

London Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Association of California School Administrators, said the shortage is at an all-time high as many veteran administrators retire and qualified personnel decline to pursue such roles.

With tight budgets and increased federal and state standards on student performance, the principal's job is no longer about "keeping the peace among students," Roberts said.

School heads now have to be experts in areas beyond the traditional roles of principals. They have to hire employees, confer with staff, visit classrooms, talk to media outlets and -- with an increasing lack of resources -- help Parent-Teacher Associations raise funds. Principals work with demanding parents and diverse student populations, which today include higher numbers of English learners and children with special needs. Many work 12-hour days.

Principals are also taking on more counseling roles, as many nurse and counselor positions have been eliminated because of shrinking budgets. On top of it all, they are not paid much more than a highly qualified, experienced teacher.

The Palo Alto district has recently felt the sting of the shortage. Three years ago, Palo Alto High School Principal Fred Dreier unexpectedly left the school in a lurch a week before classes began.

Fortunately for the district, Sandra Pearson -- a retired district principal -- stepped up to fill the vacant spot in the interim. After launching a nationwide search, however, the district still didn't have anyone to take over the post by the time Pearson was set to leave in July 2004.

Coincidentally, Gunn High School Principal Scott Laurence and Vice Principal Noreen Likins had begun to put out feelers for new jobs around the same time. The district quickly hired Laurence as Paly's new principal and promoted Likins to Gunn's chief position.

That wasn't the first time the district promoted from within to fill administrative seats. Hoover Elementary School's principal, Don Cox, took a one-year sabbatical to attend culinary school in 2004-2005. The district appointed Suzanne Scott, who was teaching fourth grade at Palo Verde Elementary School, to the interim post and ended up hiring her permanently this year.

Incidentally, Cox is now serving as JLS's interim principal.

Bowers said the district isn't against finding qualified people in its own backyard.

"I haven't spoken with the interim principals to see if they're interested in throwing their hats into the ring. We have had very good positive feedback from all three of them, and from a district point of view, I would like to see all three be candidates," he said.

For each school's search, the district will hold general meetings with parents to find out what characteristics and qualifications they want in a principal. A parent or staff member from each site will eventually be selected to serve on an interview panel.

Staff Writer Alexandria Rocha can be reached at arocha@paweekly.com.

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