After the announcement of Head Principal Darlene Jones’s retirement, and Assistant Principal  Downs was selected as the 2013-14 school year’s head principal, two positions remain empty for the coming year. Assistant Principal Tony Grippi will also retire at the end of this year. That leaves two vacant administrative positions open.

“The application process has started, but it’s not something the District is going to rush through,” Downs said. “They want to give [the applicants] as much time as possible to acclimate and prepare themselves adequately with the school and make sure they are the best possible candidate for the position.”

According to Head Principal Darlene Jones, each applicant needs to be someone who has good communication skills, knows students, has the ability to work with teachers and can handle a lot of responsibility. She believes that not only does the person have  to meet the district’s criteria, but they need to be good thinkers and have a passion for helping students and teachers. As she sees it, the benefits are worth the work.

“To me, the best part of the job is using your leadership skills to help students and teachers learn life lessons, and grow to become more successful,” Jones said.

The application process is long, and sometimes can take almost a month. First, applicants start the process on the district website. The District Website, using an online application program called “AppliTrack”, reads: The application consists of multiple steps and will take at least 30 – 60 minutes to complete.

The next step in the process is a committee of administrators including Chief Resource Officer Steve Griggs, who determine if each applicant meets the criteria for the position.

Next, a screening interview of the applicants takes place. this consists of Griggs, an assistant principal from North, and a few other administrators who conduct a thirty-minute interview with each applicant. This determines if they are eligible to continue on in the process. The next-to-last step is a Building Committee interview, which consist of 12 to 14 people. three parents, six teachers, a few support staff, Griggs, Downs, and another another Assistant Principal. This is the longest step in the process, and can often take an entire day.

The group of applicants is narrowed by each of these interviews until the remaining group is brought before the superintendent, The two finalists are then chosen by current Superintendent Pam Sloan,  who then recommends them to be hired by the Board of Education.

This decision is expected to be announced the first Thursday in April.