Leader of new high school leaving next month

FEWER THAN two weeks after welcoming families as the face of a new high school, Saliyah Cruz is already saying goodbye.

The school-design leader of Learning in New Contexts, also known as the LINC, told her staff on Tuesday that she is leaving the district. A district spokesman said Cruz will leave in early to mid-October, although an exact date has not been determined.

The LINC, on Erie Avenue near 2nd Street, is one of three new technology-driven schools in the district open to all students, with an emphasis on problem solving and personalized learning. Cruz, who is credited with helping to restore order at West Philadelphia High during a three-year stint as principal, was hired in January to help design the LINC. Several dignitaries, including Superintendent William Hite and Mayor Nutter, were there for the first day of school last week to celebrate the opening.

"I'm leaving because an opportunity presented itself that made a tremendous amount of sense for lots of professional and personal reasons," Cruz said yesterday in an interview. She would not disclose where she is going or the position, but said she was offered the job unexpectedly. She will stay at the LINC during the transition to an interim principal. "It was a decision that I wrestled with [and] that I had a hard time with because there was so much that made sense about staying in Philadelphia, [but also] so much that made sense about leaving."

Cruz said that her vacated role would appeal to lots of applicants and that she doesn't expect the transition to be extremely difficult. "I think if we manage it well, it's going to have a minimal impact."

Grace Cannon, head of the Office of New School Models, said she was surprised and disappointed by Cruz's decision to leave, but is encouraged because the faculty members have worked since the summer to help with the design. She noted that choosing an interim principal would allow the district more time to search for a permanent replacement.

"I think we're looking for someone who's entrepreneurial, innovative, progressive, is very willing and interested to think about how we change school structure so that we serve all young people in a very personalized manner," Cannon said.

Maria Pandolfi, an art teacher at the LINC, said she is concerned that the next principal will not share Cruz's vision and passion. Yet, she said, teachers will continue to move forward.

"We're not dwelling on it," she said. "We're just going to work."