Hollister
– Students and staff welcomed new Superintendent Stan Rose to
San Benito High School yesterday, while he acquainted himself with
the campus and new colleagues.
Hollister – Students and staff welcomed new Superintendent Stan Rose to San Benito High School yesterday, while he acquainted himself with the campus and new colleagues.
“I’m going to be very, very busy for the next few weeks; the dance card’s getting pretty full,” he said. “Basically I’m just trying to be a sponge.”
SBHS bid farewell Thursday to Jean Burns Slater, who had served as the district’s superintendent for three years. Friday was Rose’s first day on campus, and he used the opportunity to learn his way around the school, which happens to encompass about four city blocks.
“I tried to visit every single classroom, and the transportation area and other facilities like the pool and the theater,” he said. “I wanted to see everything.”
Rose stopped by many classrooms to introduce himself to the student body. He also wished the water polo and football teams good luck in their new season.
“Basically my message was that as the new superintendent, my primary purpose is to do whatever I can to ensure their success, whatever that means to them,” he said.
Principal Debbie Padilla accompanied Rose for a portion of the tour. Because SBHS is such a small district, the two will be working closely together this school year, she said.
“I think coming onto such a large campus might be a little overwhelming,” she said. “But I was excited that the first thing he wanted to do was go out and see the classrooms. That says a lot about a person.”
One of the classrooms that Rose stopped in on was that of Chuck Schallhorn, president of the SBHS teacher’s union. Currently the district and union are in the midst of two legal battles surrounding changes in teacher working conditions that were not fully negotiated.
“He is inheriting quite a few issues that were not of his creation, and I want to work with him to solve some of those predicaments with the teachers,” Schallhorn said of Rose. “What I hope to be able to do is increase the number and quality of conversations between the association and the superintendent, so we can nip problems in the bud before they occur.”
Over the course of the next several weeks, Rose says he will be meeting with law enforcement, union representatives, the school site council and superintendent’s cabinet to get himself up to speed on issues surrounding and effecting SBHS.
“The most recent issue to come up of course is the API scores, and we’ll be addressing that through our curriculum,” he said. SBHS lost 17 points from its API – a state system that tracks school achievement and ranks them – base score this year.
“The other looming issue is the budget itself, and how we’re going to get it in a non-upside-down position,” he added. “And we have to take care of both of those in short order.”
The SBHS Board of Trustees announced in early August that it had selected Rose, who left a position as assistant superintendent of human resources at Morgan Hill Unified School District to come to SBHS.
Rose, who has been in education for roughly 30 years, began as a teacher of English and history in elementary and high school settings at both public and private institutions. As an administrator he has served as a dean, vice principal, principal, director and assistant superintendent.
In his personal educational background Rose has earned a BA in social studies and business from the University of Portland, a teaching credential from Lewis and Clark College, and a master’s in public administration. He is currently working on his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of California at Berkeley, which he expects to complete in late 2007.
SBHS offered Rose a three-year contract with a $165,000 yearly salary, along with a $250 monthly car allowance. He will receive the same medical package as most teachers and SBHS employees.
“It’s taken me too long to come down here,” Rose said. “It’s a great community and I’m happy to be here.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or ds****@fr***********.com.
