New principals named at 5 Minneapolis schools

Article by: STEVE BRANDT , Star Tribune
Updated: June 1, 2012 - 9:55 PM

The assignments for 2012-13 reflect a new emphasis on fewer replacements and less outside hiring.

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Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson Friday named five new principals for Minneapolis schools, all of them internal shifts or promotions.

Schools getting new leaders include:

Anishinabe Academy: Laura Sullivan, current assistant at Bancroft, replacing retiring Steve Couture.

Bancroft Elementary: Erin Glynn, a veteran administrator returning from a leave to Honduras, replacing Paul Marietta, who was named earlier to head newly created Ramsey Middle School.

North High School's Senior Academy: David Branch, current principal at Lucy Craft Laney.

Lucy Craft Laney at Cleveland Park: Mauri Melander, current assistant principal, replacing Branch.

Whittier International Elementary School: Anne DePerry, current assistant there, replacing Shawn Harris-Berry, named earlier to head North High's new Academy of Arts and Communications.

The possible exception to the insider promotions could come at Barton Open School, where an offer has been extended to a candidate to replace retiring Steve DeLapp, dean of district principals.

The list announced Friday is notable for the stability it preserves in principal assignments, a process closely monitored by parents. The five appointments represent a sharp contrast to the 16 new principals named for the 2007-08 school year, for example.

That reflects stabilizing enrollment for the district, which gained a few dozen students this year after years of plunging enrollments since 1998. When fewer students translate to school closings, some principals get bumped.

But there's also a philosophical change. Johnson has made fewer principal shifts, making just four a year ago. "The big idea is how do we keep consistency and continuity," said Associate Superintendent Mark Bonine, who said parents seek that stability in a school's principal.

Branch, president of the Minneapolis Principals Forum, their bargaining representative, said Johnson has worked to provide support to struggling principals rather than shifting them around. The district also offered a Principal Academy that was mandatory for assistants who wanted to win promotion and newly hired principals from outside the district. Although that no longer is funded, "We know we have talent that's ready to move up," Branch said.

The Senior Academy is North's traditional program that's phasing out as the school recruits for its new arts-communication focus that begins next fall. But Branch said he's told Johnson he's willing to remain at North if other opportunities arise.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438