By JOHN F. MULLER Special to the Daily Press
WILSHIRE-MONTANA — After two years at the helm, Hank Harris will step down as principal of Lincoln Middle School to take an administrative post at district headquarters, officials said Tuesday.
Despite some rumbling among teachers dissatisfied with Harris, officials said the move was voluntary.
“He was not reassigned,” said John Deasy, superintendent of schools, adding he hadn’t hired a replacement yet for next year. “Hank came to me and asked to fill a position. It was his decision. We talked about it for the last two or so weeks, and we came to a decision last... Wednesday.”
Deasy said that he hopes to find a new principal by August.
Harris, who replaced Illene Straus as principal in June 2002, will be in charge of overseeing various assessment tests throughout the district. He starts work at his new post in July.
Sources in the Lincoln administration, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the faculty had expressed some discontent with Harris. One commented that Harris had a difficult road to follow as Straus’ replacement. Straus, a long-time Lincoln principal, is currently the principal of Santa Monica High School.
Harris initially refused to comment when he was contacted by phone, but later changed his mind and contacted the Daily Press.
“I had a great opportunity,” Harris said. “It’s an opportunity to impact change on a wider scale. Assessment is connected to instruction.”
Harris said that outside pressure did not play any role in his decision, and that he did not notice any discontent among the faculty. Deasy explicitly denied the presence of any such pressure, saying that any suggestion was totally erroneous. He claims the move is a way to expand his skills.
A graduate of the Harvard University, Harris earned a Masters of Arts in Secondary Education at the University of Michigan, and was a Danforth Fellow at the Center for Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Washington. He served as the assistant principal at two middle schools in Oregon and as the executive director of the Global Learning Charter School in San Diego before coming to Lincoln.
Harry Keiley, president of the local teacher union, said Harris had a normal relationship with teachers.
“We hear our members are sometimes very pleased and sometimes not so pleased, and that’s just the nature of the job,” Keiley said. “There’s nothing different about Mr. Harris. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 23, 2004. Read the original PDF.