After Plagman, Washington High community ‘ready to embrace’ next chapter

CEDAR RAPIDS - Sighs and pained expressions still follow the mention of Ralph Plagman's resignation as principal of Washington High in Cedar Rapids, but school community members appear hopeful about the person who will assume the position next.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District and the Washington High Parent Teacher Association hosted several public input sessions this week as the district - with the national search firm McPherson and Jacobson - begins looking for the school's next leader.

'I would challenge this person to make their own branding, their own legacy,” said Kirk Jonasson, a parent of two Washington students. 'I would like to think the community is ready to embrace that.”

Plagman headed the school for 35 years before he resigned in August, shortly after police arrested a long-term substitute teacher for having a sexual relationship with a student.

In a letter to parents, Plagman said school district officials asked him to step down because of the scandal that ensued. The teacher, Mary Beth Haglin, has since been convicted of aggravated misdemeanor sexual exploitation.

While Plagman's absence hung over the meeting - one parent said his abrupt retirement was 'like a death” for students - many said they are eager to have a principal who will leave his or her own mark on the 61-year-old school.

'It's important to us to honor the past,” PTA President Jane Hutchins said. 'But we're really looking forward to the future. That's going to take a special person.”

Speaking to representatives from the search firm and to the district's interim Human Resources Director Rod Dooley, meeting attendees said they want a principal who will promote Washington High, be visible in the community and motivate students to reach higher standards.

They also asked for someone with experience working with diverse student populations. About 20 percent of students at Washington are black, according to state data, and attendees stressed the importance of the diversity of abilities, backgrounds and socioeconomic status within the school.

'We have to have a person who believes every student can learn,” community member Bernard Clayton said. 'And he can't be afraid of his students.”

Attendees also shared issues at Washington High that the incoming principal should be aware of, including a mistrust of school district officials and the sense of loss that has lingered since Plagman's departure.

This school year, the high school has been headed by interim Principal Carlos Grant, a former principal of the district's alternative high school who had planned to transition to a position in the district's central office.

Neither he nor any other district staff member has expressed interested in the permanent principal position, Dooley said.

'We have not had anyone step forward and say they want to be considered,” he said.

Dooley, Deputy Superintendent Mary Ellen Maske and Superintendent Brad Buck are to review candidates for the position next month, Dooley said, before interview committees made up of staff, students, community members and administrators interview finalists.

Finalists' names will not be made public until two top candidates are identified, Dooley said. Those two candidates will be invited to visit Washington High before a final recommendation is made to the school board.

Dooley said he hopes to make that recommendation at the March 27 school board meeting.

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