PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles High School Principal Scott Harker said on Wednesday that he will resign as principal and that he is requesting an assistant principal position.
Harker said he wants to spend more time with his family, which the long hours of being a head principal did not allow.
“I decided I needed to downsize,” Harker said. “I have a wife and four kids, and to me that is really what is most important.
“What is unfortunate for me is I haven’t been able to coach my kids’ teams, be involved in the Scout troops, teach religion classes like I used to.”
Harker will remain as principal through June, and Superintendent Gary Cohn said he hoped to fill the position before then and have a smooth transition.
‘Positive leadership’
“Scott has guided Port Angeles High School through some difficult times,” Cohn said.
“Providing leadership for staff, students and parents through our state’s graduation requirement changes, implementing student advisories, responding to the fire of 2007 has been no easy task.
The fire burned portions of the high school.
“Scott faced these and other challenges with a focus on positive leadership and good humor during in his tenure as principal,” Cohn said.
Harker said he knew that long hours were ahead of him when he accepted the job five years ago, but that he is ready for a change.
“I have reached a point where I need to spend more time at home,” he said.
No decision has been made on where Harker might be reassigned.
Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Elementary Programs Mary Hebert will work with staff, students and parents in defining the skills and qualifications for the position.
Sessions for student, staff, parent and community input have been scheduled for next week.
Hebert plans to meet with the Port Angeles High School Student Council on Tuesday during its regular meeting.
Staff members will have the opportunity for input at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the school’s library.
Parents and community members are invited to an open meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, also in the high school library.
Harker said he plans to continue working in the district.
“I appreciate the opportunities that the Port Angeles School District has afforded me,” Harker said, “and I look forward to many more years of continued service to its students and staff.”
ROTC growth
He said he was proud of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program’s growth at the high school.
“It was on the verge of elimination, and we were able to not only get it back, but to help make it one of the distinguished units in the nation,” Harker said.
He said he also is proud of guiding the high school through harder graduation requirements passed down from the state Legislature and dealing with the staff reductions resulting from declining enrollment.
“It has been a challenge, but we’ve tried to make it as smooth as possible,” he said.
Assistant Superintendent Michelle Reid, who was Port Angeles High School principal before Harker, said she understands the challenges of a high school principal.
“I certainly appreciate the hard work Scott has brought to the principalship,” she said.
“Most folks don’t really understand the time and energy demands a principal faces every day.
“It is an intellectually, physically and emotionally demanding role.”
Harker said his children range in age from 10 to 16 and attend Sequim schools where his wife, Colleen, is a counselor.
Harker began his tenure in the Port Angeles School District at Port Angeles High School in September 2000 as an assistant principal and was promoted to the principal position in 2006 after serving as interim principal since 2004.
Prior to his work with the Port Angeles School District, Harker was dean of students at Los Alamitos High School in Southern California.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
