After five months of searching for a new assistant principal for Bloomfield Hills High School, science teacher and leadership advisor Jessica Lupone was chosen as the interim.

“In, the middle of the year, [we] were not going get that many candidates, [so] the applicant pool was small. Hiring season in education starts in the Spring in March or April,” said principal Charlie Hollerith regarding the challenges due to the time frame of the opening.

“We have a time period for second semester and we needed somebody to fill that void. We [the administrative team] decided it would be a great opportunity, to see internally if there were candidates, teachers that were interested in the experience.” He added that, “Here was the perfect opportunity to build our internal leadership capacity.”   

In the October article “Committee to hire assistant principal”, a selected group of community members interviewed those who applied for the assistant principal job.    

Although 110 candidates applied, the search committee comprised of teachers, students, and parents remains in search for the candidate suitable for the current administrative team.

In order to fill the position for the time being, the administrative team decided the best arrangement would be an interim.

Lupone described her reaction when she learned of her new position.

“It’s an exciting transition because I have been in the classroom for the past 18 years and I have done a lot of different things in terms of committees and leadership opportunities and things like that throughout the district,” said Lupone. “I love working with kids and I love working with teachers and so I felt like this was a different avenue in which I could work with both groups, students and teachers, but in a different way and offer something different than I have been in the past.”

To continue, Margaret Schultz, one of the current assistant principals, said, “Mrs. Lupone has an amazing relationship with the staff in the building, obviously so many of the students know her and respect her, she has great relationships with kids, so that’s a comfort level for the students to be able to have somebody that we know and trust.”

However, since Lupone is just the interim for second semester, the search for the right candidate must continue. Lupone will, however, have the opportunity to apply for the permanent position.

“Obviously we expect that Mrs. Lupone is going to do an amazing job. So if it’s something she really likes and wants to apply to continue the position in the fall, then I think obviously that is good for all of us,” said Schultz.

The position will be reposted in March or April for candidates to begin the application process again.

The administrative team has not felt any pressure to rush this process. According to the interim assistant principal, Larry Goralski, it is very important to take the proper amount of time. “I think in education the leadership of a building really helps set the tone, build the culture, and support the students and staff. The fact that they’re [the administrative team] going to slow down and take their time and, in this case, give an opportunity to the classroom teacher, that is awesome.”

Although the process is lengthy the administrative team is confident that the right candidate will be found, and Mrs. Lupone will be a good fit for the remainder of this school year.

“We will repost the position in March or April, we look forward to Mrs. Lupone getting that experience”, said Hollerith.