Five principals from Ypsilanti Public Schools will be offered leadership positions in the new consolidated district with Willow Run.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Of the principals notified that they will be offered a leadership position in the new district, one is from Willow Run, the remaining five are from Ypsilanti.

The returning principals are:

• Sharine Buddin, principal at Perry Child Development Center, Ypsilanti.
• Karla Graessley, principal at Estabrook Elementary, Ypsilanti.
• Cory McElmeel, co-principal at Ypsilanti High School and Ypsilanti New Tech High.
• Charles Raski, principal at the Elementary Learning Center, Willow Run.
• Jason Riggs, principal at Ypsilanti Middle School.
• Connie Thompson, principal at Adams STEM Academy, Ypsilanti.

Building assignments have not been determined yet. A total of nine principal positions will be needed in the new district. The remaining three positions will be filled with external candidates.

The principals have not been given anything about terms or conditions yet, just notification that they have been selected, said Ypsilanti Community Schools Superintendent Scott Menzel. A salary structure for both principals and teachers will be presented to the Board of Education for approval during its joint meeting April 25, he said.

Nearly 24 internal candidates applied for the nine principal positions, officials said. At least one of the current principals did not apply for a job in Ypsilanti Community Schools, Menzel said. Some of the applicants were teachers, added Emma Jackson, communications director for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

Decisions have not been made about assistant principal positions.

"We envision there will be some, although we don’t know exactly how many yet," Menzel said. "That will go hand-in-hand with finalizing the small learning community structures at the secondary level."

District officials have committed to having small, theme-based learning communities at the middle and high school, as opposed to a comprehensive schools like the current Ypsilanti High School or Ann Arbor Huron, Pioneer and Skyline high schools.

All of the buildings except Forest School and Ypsilanti Middle School will be used in the new district. Forest School, which serves emotionally impaired students from all 10 Washtenaw County school districts, will still operate. However, the plan is to shift control of the program to the WISD, officials said. Ypsilanti staff currently runs the school.

The WISD always paid the facility expenses at Forest School through its special education funding, so that will not change, Menzel said.

The principal selection process included the completion of a qualifications assessment tool called AdminFit; building site visits, observations and interviews; surveys given to parents, students and the superintendent of the district where the applicant works; and a review of the applicant's personnel file.

Jackson said there were multiple groups of about four individuals that conducted the interviews and carried out the selection process. The four-person teams for the principal candidates consisted of two administrators, one teacher and one parent.

The new district used retired administrators to serve on these teams and to review internal applicants. No principal had a previous colleague or supervisor on his or her selection team. Retired Ypsilanti administrators were on the Willow Run administrators' teams and vice versa, Jackson said.

"Everything was done with a rubric," she said. "The assessment tool was given so much weight and the surveys were given so much weight and everything else was weighted to keep it consistent and fair across both districts and with each candidate."

Jackson said the five educational pillars the Board of Education established for the new district and the board's commitment to "quality leadership at every level" guided who was issued the notifications for rehire. The high expectations and criteria set forth by the board shaped the principal selection process, she added.

The five guiding principles for hiring all staff in the new district are:

1. High expectations for all learners.
2. Evidence-based "best" practices while allowing for innovation and creativity.
3. Family and community partnerships.
4. Student voice and empowerment.
5. Efficiency and financial viability.

"Arriving at the (principal) decision was difficult, and officials working closely with the process expressed respect for and appreciation to all candidates who applied for leadership positions with the new district," according to a press release distributed Thursday. "At the start of the process, all candidates were encouraged to apply for multiple district positions and for those who chose not to take this course of action, support options will be available to assist in the transition process."

Teacher interviews now are underway and letters of intent are expected to be distributed in early May, according to the release. Support staff positions will be posted later this month and interviews will begin as early as the last week of April.

• Download a document outlining the complete staff selection process.

Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.