PaliHi Team Launches Search For New 2008-2009 Principal

Palisades Charter School High School officials have begun the search for a new principal and will soon interview candidates. They hope to replace retiree and interim principal Marcia Haskin, who filled the position last fall after principal Gloria Martinez left in June to work as an education consultant at Loyola Marymount University. If the school does not find a highly qualified candidate, then Haskin has agreed to serve as interim principal again in 2008-09. She has also indicated she’ll stay this fall to mentor the new full-time principal if one is selected. In that capacity, her schedule and pay would be based on need. ‘I felt a connection with this school from the start,’ Haskin, 65, said of her decision to stay. ‘I feel good here. This job motivates me and keeps me young.’ Executive Director Amy Dresser-Held believes Haskin’s presence next school year will provide consistency and stability. ‘She has been very successful in her short time at Pali in building trust among all stakeholders and in increasing accountability across the board,’ Dresser-Held said. Haskin coaches teachers and evaluates their performance in the classroom. In addition, she assists parents with their concerns. Her goal this year is to close the achievement gap between African-American and Hispanic students compared to white and Asian students. She also hopes to improve communication between staff, parents, students and departments. This fall, the school may have a higher staff turnover than usual. In 2003, 92 of the school’s 235 employees took a five-year leave of absence from Los Angeles Unified School District to work at the charter school, and they must decide by April 15 whether to stay at the school or return to LAUSD. With Haskin at the school, she will be able to train new hires. ‘She has tremendous experience in selecting and mentoring educational leaders,’ Dresser-Held said. Haskin, who commutes from Marina del Rey, worked as a principal for Palms Middle School for three years and was the director of secondary services for LAUSD for two years. In that role, she supervised principals at five schools. She retired in 2005 after working in education for 38 years. If Haskin continues as interim principal in 2008-09, her salary will be based on whether she can receive an emergency exemption from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. In order for retirees to receive their benefits, they can only earn an annual salary of $27,900. However, they can apply for an emergency exemption that allows them to make half the annual salary of a high school principal, who typically earns around $110,000. CalSTRS will allow Haskin to earn the higher salary in 2008-09 if school officials can demonstrate that they made reasonable efforts to recruit a principal with the experience and credentials of Haskin and could not find such a school leader, Dresser-Held said. Last August, Haskin was hired to work at the $27,900 salary. In January, she realized she qualified for the emergency exemption for 2007-08 because the school did not have much time to replace Martinez, who submitted her resignation in May. Haskin began making the higher salary this month. Haskin will help to select the new principal as part of a hiring committee consisting of teachers, parents, classified staff, administrators, board members, community leaders and students. The committee will consider candidates’ instructional expertise, leadership skills and their track record of successfully leading large secondary schools, Dresser-Held said. The candidate must have at least four years’ experience as a principal. ‘Because we have so many veteran teachers, it would be difficult for a new principal to get the same level of respect as someone with more experience,’ said Colleen McCarthy, human resources director. McCarthy has posted the job opening on the school’s Web site, www.palihigh.org, and has attended job fairs to recruit candidates.