Tamalpais High School Principal Dr. Julie Synyard announced her resignation from her position on Tuesday.
She has been appointed as Assistant Superintendent for the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District, according to a press release sent via email from the Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) on Wednesday.
If approved by the TUHSD at a board meeting on Oct. 27, retired administrator Dr. David Brown will serve as interim principal at Tam for the remainder of the school year, beginning Nov. 10. This would be Brown’s first experience working as an administrator within the TUHSD.
Brown will be present on campus three days a week, and the Assistant Principals and Assistant Superintendents will work together to fill the role the other two days.
Brown has served as Executive Director of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, according to the press release. He has also served as as activities director, high school principal, and superintendent in a number of districts in Southern California and Napa Valley.
Brown said that he wants to continue fostering the educational environment that exists at Tam.
“[My goals are] to maintain the quality programs that are there and to work with the staff and students to provide the best environment possible for learning,” Brown said.
He also mentioned that he will work to be a positive, non-intrusive force on campus.
“I hope to find the opportunities to connect individually and with groups,” Brown said. “On the one hand, you don’t want administration to get in the way of quality classroom instruction. I don’t want to be seen as someone demanding new programs and new opportunities. On the other hand, I do want to be supportive of teachers to make sure that any initiatives that are currently underway are carried forth. I won’t just sit and wait for the new principal to be selected.”
TUHSD Superintendent David Yoshihara stated that Brown is well qualified to serve as interim principal, so the transition from one principal to the next will be smooth.
“Certainly there will be some immediate effect, but we believe it will be minimized because the Tam staff is still all there, all the Assistant Principals are still there, so everybody else is still there,” Yoshihara said. “It’s like a big ship––even though your captain is leaving, we are bringing in another captain to steer the ship.”
Additionally, Yoshihara believes that the everyday lives of the students will remain fairly unchanged through the transitional period.
“When there is a change in the administration in the middle of the year it will certainly be felt, [but] on a day-to-day level, in your classrooms, in terms of your academics, [the change] is much more minimized.”
Tam High junior Kendall Lafranchi is unsure about how the administrative shift will affect her.
“I never really talk to the principal. I never really see the principal. I’m sure it affects teachers more directly,” Lafranchi said. “I’m not sure how it will affect me yet.”
Forums regarding the selection of a new, permanent principal are scheduled to begin in early spring. These forums will call upon students, staff, parents, and the community to determine which professional and personal characteristics they want to see in a principal.
“The district will conduct a full search process to fill that important position,” Yoshihara said. “These will be meetings where we involve parents, students, staff, and the community in looking into the personal and professional attributes they are looking for in their next principal. Therefore, the job description will be developed to incorporate what the stakeholders were asking for.”
Principal Synyard was not available for comment.
