Who, what, where and why: the search for Urbana High School’s next principal

The job of the Urbana High School principal is to be “the head of the school, the curriculum leader, the face of the building, and to have the final say,” according to Associate Principal Travis Courson.

“In my experience some of them are very outgoing, centered around students. Some not as much… in my opinion the best kind of principal is one who balances both,” he said.

The student perspective is not much different. “The principal should be tolerant of every student, every background and hardworking,” says junior Elise Colgrove, to which freshman Eve Foley adds, they should be “open-minded and smart.”

Throughout the long history of Urbana High School, there has never been a year quite like 2020. Between a global pandemic and the challenges it has presented, this is the first year the spot for Urbana High School’s Principal is empty.

After last year’s Principal unexpectedly stepped down in June, school administration met to discuss the possible outcomes of the search.

“We agreed from the very beginning… that our goal was not to settle,” explained superintendent Dr. Jennifer Ivory-Tatum. “We [administrators] agreed that if we didn’t find someone who had all the qualities we were looking for, just because it was July, we weren’t going to take any person.”

“We didn’t want to fill the position just to fill it,” added Courson.

During the search, Urbana High School administration kept in mind desired ideas, qualities and qualifications of who the principal should be beyond experience and official state requirements.

As Dr. Ivory-Tatum explained, this included someone who was “used to diversity” and had a “well-rounded background.”

“We wanted a principal who would… build on what we already have. Someone who would breathe fresh air into the building,” she summarized.

In July, the final four candidates (from the initial field of thirteen) were interviewed and examined extensively before it was decided that none were the right fit for the job.

COVID-19 made this decision possible with it rendering many in school administrative day-to-day responsibilities as unnecessary due to students and staff staying home. Though unprecedented, Dr. Ivory-Tatum knew the current administration team would be able to rise to the challenge.

“As a group… they would be able to at least keep us moving in the right direction just for this year.”

With the hope that the 2021-2022 academic year will be at least partially in school, a search for a new principal is well underway. The position was posted to the Urbana School District #116 website on Nov. 30.

The school is confident in finding someone fit for the position after learning from the previous search and having more time to interview and seek candidates.

One thing’s for sure- it’s a historical time to be a part of Urbana High School!