Registration for 2025-2026 School Year

Principal Selection Process and Timeline

Posted February 11, 2026

February 10, 2026

Dear Florida Pitt Waller ECE-8 School Community, 

As an essential partner in the school community, the purpose of this letter is to provide an update on the principal selection process at Florida Pitt Waller. 

As shared last Friday, Principal Bob Savage has announced that he will be leaving Florida Pitt Waller at the end of the school year.  We would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for Principal Savage and his leadership at Waller.  He is committed to supporting the onboarding of the new leader who will start in the principal role next school year. 

As we look ahead, we are writing to explain how we will proceed with hiring the principal of Florida Pitt Waller. Our goal is to ensure each stage of the principal selection process reflects the values of inclusivity, accessibility, equity, collaboration, and integrity. Our approach to hiring aims to ensure that we are responsive to the voices and perspectives throughout our school community. 

To that end, we will offer multiple opportunities for all members of the school community to engage in the principal selection process. The process will include the following:

  • A stakeholder survey (including students, school staff, families, Collaborative School Committee, and community members) will be offered to provide feedback on the qualities and priorities important to the school and for the next principal. 
  • Office of Schools leaders will meet with the Collaborative School Committee (CSC) to use the results of the stakeholder surveys to finalize the principal candidate profile and confirm questions for panel interviews.
  • The top qualified candidates from our candidate pool will participate in an initial round of interviews with district personnel and CSC members. 
  • In-person opportunities will be made available to meet with final candidates.  These include  drop-in opportunities for staff to meet the finalists, a moderated in-person community forum (using questions from the initial feedback survey accompanying this letter), and an informal meet and greet event following the forum.
  • An additional survey will be offered for stakeholders to provide feedback on the final candidates.
  • The Superintendent will review feedback collected throughout the interview process and conduct an interview with the final candidates before making a final decision.

We believe a strong partnership with our students, staff, families, and community is essential in selecting the principal. To continue to honor this approach, we invite all members of our school community to complete the Principal Hiring survey below to list characteristics you would like to see in the next principal. Please complete this survey by Friday, February  20, 2026 by these methods below:

Below this letter is the timeline of the community involvement steps of the process. We will also engage in rigorous reference and data collection on the final candidates.

Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement. Our focus will be to ensure we identify the best leader to lead Florida Pitt Waller. 

Sincerely,

Ron Salazar
Director, ECE-8 Network

Dr. Christina Sylvester               
Operational Services Director

Principal Selection Process Tentative Timeline 

Now through February 20, 2026

  • Community feedback via Principal Hiring Community Input survey

Week of February 23, 2026

  • On February 26th, the Office of Schools team will virtually meet with CSC to continue to build the principal candidate profile, confirm interview questions for the CSC panel interviews, and confirm upcoming principal selection events. 

Week of March 2, 2026

  • On March 2nd, the top qualified candidates will participate in an initial round of interviews including panel interviews with the school’s CSC, Office of Schools leaders, and a principal representative in the ECE-8 Network of schools. A letter will be shared announcing the top finalists, opportunities to interact with the finalists, and ways to provide feedback.
  • On March 5th,  the Office of Schools leaders and the top finalists will spend a day completing an instructional learning walk and conducting informal classroom observations. Florida Pitt Waller staff are welcome to drop-in during designated times during the school day to meet the finalists and ask the finalists questions related to their future candidacy. A moderated, in-person community forum will be held immediately after school using questions submitted in the initial survey accompanying this letter. An informal meet and greet and reception event will follow after the forum. Students, staff, families, and community members are encouraged to attend. Interpretation services will be provided.

Week of March 16, 2026

  • The finalists will participate in an interview with Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Tony Smith, and other Office of Schools leaders. 
  • Principal Announced

*Dates and events may be subject to change

Please see the following PDF to see the full letter and timeline.