Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent Matt Haas decided in late March to replace Crozet Elementary’s retiring principal Staci England with the current principal of Greer Elementary, Steve Saunders, in a move that distressed many in the Greer school community. After the transfer was announced, teachers and parents attended School Board meetings to express their sorrow and anger at the loss of their popular school leader.
Greer parent and coach of the school’s Girls on the Run program Holly Odom called the decision “short-sighted and disrespectful” during the March 26 School Board meeting public comment period. “Why would you choose to move a gifted leader, trained in managing the complexity of a Title I school, to Crozet, and then give us the task and burden of the search and transition?” said Odom. “It is as if you traded all the hard work by our teachers and staff under principal Saunders for your immediate gratification.”
Odom’s husband Bo added his concern that moving a proven leader out of Greer will affect student learning. “It takes [away] from the students who are most vulnerable and least equipped to absorb the disruption,” he said. “Leadership changes in Title I schools don’t just slow momentum, they can erase it. Crozet Elementary is a desirable school in a desirable community—why isn’t the district finding a different solution for Crozet?”…