Royal Oak

Moll signs on for one more year as ROHS principal

By Chris Jackett
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Jim Moll Jim Moll

With the abrupt resignation of Royal Oak High School Principal Michael Greening June 6, the board has decided to keep Interim Principal Jim Moll on board for the 2012-13 school year while they seek out a permanent replacement.

Moll has been at the helm of ROHS since Jan. 3 after Greening was put on paid administrative leave two weeks prior for suspicions that led to two felony embezzlement charges.

“I think Mr. Moll has come in here and done a phenomenal job for us under some circumstances that were … difficult,” Board of Education President Gary Briggs said after a unanimous vote of support at the June 14 meeting. “I just want to thank you and I’m glad you’re going to stick it out with us a little longer.”

Moll said it was the students who convinced him to stay.

“Truly my intent was to be here till Tuesday,” Moll said. “Then I got caught up in the wonderful culture that Royal Oak High School presents, the openness to making some change in the way we are conducting business across the street and the way that we are having our students embrace curriculum and taking some good long looks at how our curriculum system is being implemented and then making some tweaks of those to help some of our struggling learners, but also to help those kids that are extremely successful.

“Truly the stuff that put me over the top and had me say yes when (Superintendent) Shawn (Lewis-Lakin) was talking to me was the daily feedback from kids, the slaps on the back and the high fives I got in the halls and seeing the joy that comes with being a high school student. It really reinforced that I needed to take advantage of this nice offer and hang out for another year.”

Lewis-Lakin said the district plans to have the next permanent ROHS principal determined by April 15, 2013, for the 2013-14 school year.

“The goal is to provide continuity. A lot of good work has been accomplished since January and we want to continue that through next year,” Lewis-Lakin said. “At the same time, we need to be very deliberate and intentional about and give ourselves time to make important decisions about what’s next at the high school so we that can do that right.

“Mr. Moll is going to provide us great leadership through next year, which is also going to provide us a tremendous opportunity to really engage the very deliberate process of bringing in groups of students, bringing in groups of faculty members, bringing community members, parents to talk about what is the direction we want to see Royal Oak High School move in year 2013-14 and beyond. And then what (is) the leadership role we need to get there. And I’m looking forward to that very deliberate process as we move forward next year with Mr. Moll.”

Moll, a retired Birmingham Public Schools administrator, was quick to credit the rest of the staff at the high school for helping everyone move forward from the Greening incident.

“Really any success that we’ve had across the street at the high school, while I may have been the front person, was truly a team effort,” Moll said.

Trustee Carrie Beerer said she was “excited” Moll would be returning.

“I’m very happy to hear that it is going to work out well for both the district and for Mr. Moll to be able to be our principal next year,” Beerer said. “The consistency and the level of expectations he has brought to the high school has been wonderful. I’m thrilled to see that continue as we work forward toward the process of what comes next, and I’m glad that we can do this collectively.”
 

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Chris Jackett at cjackett@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1110.