A change in leadership at New Tampa’s Wharton High is bringing in a familiar face back to the school.
Mike Rowan (photo), who currently is the principal at King High on N. 56th St., will take over as principal at Wharton on July 1.
While he’ll have some headaches to deal with, as he tries to repair Wharton’s reputation in the community, one thing will be much easier for him — the commute.
Rowan lives in Pebble Creek, just across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the school. His daughter, Delaney, graduates from Wharton this spring.
Not only is Rowan a community member and parent, he also is a former teacher and administrator at Wharton. He was a social studies teacher and soccer coach when the school opened in 1997. Then, in 2006, he was named assistant principal for administration (APA) at Wharton. He served in that capacity for five years before being named the principal at King.
“I’m excited,” says Rowan, who acknowledges he will be facing some challenges at the school, including a negative perception about Wharton. However, he says, “there are a lot of community members — parents, kids and faculty — who want to get rid of that perception. The biggest asset that Wharton has going for it is that all of the people involved – parents, kids, teachers and the community — want (the school) to be successful.”
He says he is looking forward to using his experiences as a Wharton parent, community member, teacher and administrator to make sure, “we are all on the same page, going in the same direction.”
Rowan replaces current Wharton principal Brad Woods, who has been in that role since 2008. Woods announced his resignation to school families on April 12, effective at the end of the current school year. He will move to a position in the human resources department at Hillsborough County Public Schools, as the manager of services and support.
The appointments were made official at the Hillsborough Public Schools School Board meeting on May 1.
No comment yet, add your voice below!