Menlo-Atherton High School staff, parents and students last week began the process of looking for a successor to Principal Dave Theis, who has handed in his resignation and asked to be reassigned to another district position.
Theis, 58, could not be reached for comment. Sequoia Union High School District Superintendent Merle Fruehling said he received Theis' resignation letter at the end of February and plans to recommend to the school board that Theis, a former district guidance counselor, be named district coordinator of student personnel services, overseeing counseling and guidance.
A group of M-A staff, parents and students met last week to start the principal selection process.
Theis announced to the school community in September that he had been told that if his performance didn't improve he would be reassigned, Fruehling said. The superintendent, who evaluates all the principals, said he would not comment on the specifics of his evaluation of Theis.
The two men are longtime friends, having both been employed in the district for years. "He's a good friend," Fruehling said. "It's always difficult, but you have to separate" the job from the friendship.
Fruehling had planned to make a recommendation on Theis' status to the school board March 1. Instead, Theis resigned on his own. Fruehling refused to say what his recommendation would have been.
A principal, Fruehling said, must demonstrate instructional leadership; the ability to involve students, staff and parents in shared decision-making; and have a good evaluation process for new teachers.
Advertisements are out in national education publications. An M-A committee will do initial interviews and give Fruehling a final list of candidates to interview. He plans to make a recommendation to the school board by late May.
--Elizabeth Darling
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