Robbinsdale will shuffle its principals

Kids in the Robbinsdale district will likely adapt well to the influx of new principals at six elementary schools.

By MARIA ELENA BACA, Star Tribune

Last update: June 11, 2008 - 12:37 AM

With the retirements of three Robbinsdale principals, one's transfer to another district and transfers of two more to fill openings, six of the district's 11 elementary schools will have new leadership in their administrative offices come fall.

Sunny Hollow's Kathryn House, Sonnesyn's Lois Nordling and Zachary Lane's Stephanie Parsons all are retiring. Meadow Lake principal Jim Calhoun will take the helm at Sonnesyn; Lakeview principal Kim Hiel will take over at Meadow Lake.

Chris Holden, the principal of Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School/Robbinsdale Middle School, is leaving to become principal of Cornelia Elementary School in Edina. His position and Hiel's will be filled later this month. The two other positions, at Zachary Lane and Sunny Hollow, have been filled by Patrick Smith and Heather Hanson, associate administrators in the district.

Widespread principal turnover can have a big impact on a district, in terms of the administration's ability to support principals in their new posts, said Charlie Kyte, executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. Still, at the school level, district turnover isn't as important, he said.

"Kids adapt very, very well, if you have good, competent principals," he said. "Even if they're new, they'll quickly establish a rapport with the kids. It doesn't make that much difference if every one of your schools have a new principal, or if only one of your schools has a new principal."

It's important, Kyte said, to make the school community feel invested in their new leaders; one way to do that is to involve them in the interview and selection process.

"When they have a say, right in the beginning, then the staff and the parents are more invested in having the principal be successful."

In Robbinsdale, new principals go through an interview process with parents and staff; principals seeking a transfer need only to have the request approved by the superintendent, said Robbinsdale district spokesman Jeff Dehler. Administrators often are hired from within the district.

Calhoun, who's moving from Meadow Lake to Sonnesyn, said he's met with the parent-teacher group, and with the school's volunteers, and greeted students at his new school on a few mornings. He had been happy with his six years at Meadow Lake, but when the openings came up, he decided maybe it was time to make a change.

"It keeps you on top of everything, it keeps you fresh," he said. "You get new ideas, and you can take your experience from the past into a new situation. It works out well all around."

Still, he said, it's not easy to move. "It's hard to leave a place you've put your heart and soul into," he said. "But change is good, and I'm excited about my move to Sonnesyn because it's a wonderful school."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409

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