It’s official. Sophia Lafayette is Lake Orion High School’s new principal.
The school board was uncharacteristically divided when they voted her into the position, 4-2, at their Jan. 13 meeting.
Boardmembers Bob Gritzinger and Jim Weidman were the dissenting votes, citing her lack of experience as a principal as the reason. Tiffany Weber-Phillips was not at the meeting and did not vote.
‘No offense, but you haven’t worked at a high school, or middle school or elementary school as an administrator,? Gritzinger said to Lafayette. ‘Given that we are hiring for the tenth largest high school in the State of Michigan and the first largest in Oakland County, I have serious concerns that the best, most energetic, most wonderful person in the world may not be prepared to handle that kind of a position without some experience going in.?
Weidman related Lake Orion High School to a jumbo jet, and said hiring Lafayette was like hiring a pilot who hadn’t first logged any hours in ‘puddle jumpers? to fly it.
‘When [pilots] graduate, in spite of having extensive training and experience, the next step in the process is to fly, for many hours, commuter flights ? those little 19-seat puddle jumpers. And they log hours before they ever set foot in the captain’s seat in a jumbo jet,? said Weidman.
Lafayette has yet to sign a contract of employment with the district, so it’s unknown exactly when she’ll take the pilot seat and what her pay and benefits will be.
And while her stint here hasn’t even begun, some community members are already speculating on when she’ll leave.
‘My concerns are stability and consistency when she takes over,? said one parent during the public’s first meeting with Lafayette, Jan. 7. ‘Her longest is six years somewhere. Is that because she keeps taking promotions and jumping ship? How long is she going to be here? She gets a PhD, gets a better job offer, she’s gone.?
Lafayette says she’ll stay ‘as long as you let me.?
‘One of the reasons I came back to Michigan is to be near my family. For me, I’m here for as long as my dad’s here,? she said at the meeting, ‘and he’s young.?
But Superintendent Ken Gutman implied her stay might not be so permanent.
‘The [principal search] committee started with, is this candidate good enough for us? The committee ended with, are we good enough for this candidate? The biggest concern at the end was, how long can we keep someone like this? One of our high school teachers said, how long can you keep a shooting star?? he said, Jan. 7.
Earlier this week, Lafayette noted she’s worked as a teacher, worked in central office administration and her career plans might include a stint as superintendent.
‘One day, in my future when my kids are grown, I might want to be a superintendent,? she said. ‘Now it makes sense in my career to be a school principal.?
Regardless of how long she says, community members want to know how she’ll perform coming from Detroit Public Schools, which some consider a ‘failing district.?
‘One of the things that people need to remember is that I’ve only been in Detroit for two and a half years. My career spans 14 years in education and in a variety of districts ? urban, suburban, in a variety of demographics and achievement levels.?
She says one of the reasons she went to Detroit was to ‘improve a failing system,? noting that DPS is a large district and seeing changes could take three to five years.
Lafayette’s latest position in DPS is chief of staff, which she described as being ‘second to the superintendent.? The new principal, however, doesn’t see her job in Lake Orion as a demotion.
‘What I enjoy more than anything else is working with children and working with teachers. This opportunity is one that’s come to me and I’m very excited and I don’t see how working with students and teachers is a demotion at all,? she said.