UPDATED: Sept. 4, 2017 at 9:37 p.m.

Three new Syracuse City School District principals are starting the school year this week at area high schools.

The positions were filled for the 2017-18 academic year after SCSD Board of Education commissioners approved the candidates this summer.

Maggie McRobbie-Taru will lead the Public Service Leadership Academy at Fowler High School, Brian Kavanagh will lead Henninger High School and Tara Jennings will lead Corcoran High School.

Kavanagh has worked in upstate New York education systems for more than 15 years. He previously worked as an SCSD teacher and administrative assistant. He took the position of Henninger High School principal after leaving his job as Oswego City School District Executive director of education and personnel.

“I missed working with students and having more contact with teachers,” Kavanagh said. Henninger High School is Kavanagh’s alma mater. He has wanted this job for 20 years, he said.

This is Kavanagh’s first time working as a high school principal. Kavanagh said he imagines the most rewarding part of his job will be watching seniors receive their diplomas at graduation.

“I had some very good teachers when I was in Henninger and my favorite teachers were in social studies,” Kavanagh said. “It inspired me to get into education.”

Getting as many students as possible to graduate will be Kavanagh’s main goal, he said.

He said one-fifth of Henninger High School’s population comes from foreign countries. Having those students graduate on time is the “biggest challenge,” Kavanagh said.

“The second biggest is the poverty rate and all the challenges that come with that are daunting,” Kavanagh added. “A lot of ninth graders are two to three grade levels behind. Getting them up to speed is a lot of work.”

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, 45.3 percent of children in Syracuse under the age of 18 lived in poverty in 2015. Living below the poverty line is defined as living in a household with an income below $24,257 for a family of four.

Patricia Body, vice president of the SCSD Board of Education commissioners, said when an employee gets promoted or chooses to leave, the district posts the job online and a separate SCSD Board of Education committee reviews the candidates.

Body said the board of education looked for candidates who were successful in their positions. The board also looked for people committed to the district who have leadership qualities and the proper professional development training, Body said.

A few of the SCSD Board of Education members knew Kavanagh and could speak to his qualifications, Body added.

Body said McRobbie-Taru was the principal of Fowler High School last school year and “did a very good job.”

“Since she did such a good job at Fowler, we moved her to PSLA which is in the same building,” Body said. “She’s excited and is very good at what she does.”

Jennings was the vice principal of Corcoran High School last school year, a fact that played a large part in the decision to hire her for the position of principal, Body said.

“She had done a good job at Corcoran. She was excited and the kids knew her,” Body said. “It was a good move. She already knew the school.”

Michael Henesey, SCSD administrator for communications, in a statement to The Daily Orange, said each of the principals “possesses the experience and qualities that we are looking for in our principals.”

Both McRobbie-Taru and Jennings had experience working at their respective buildings and had developed relationships with the staff, students, families and school community, Henesey said.

“They are compassionate yet tough and possess management styles that will lead to success for students, families and staff,” Henesey said about the new principals, who will try to continue improving graduation rates and decreasing the SCSD dropout rate.

The story has been updated for appropriate style.

Published on September 4, 2017 at 9:02 pm

Contact Katelyn: kmfaubel@syr.edu