Greg Wohlman will be the next MHS principal, Superintendent Cheryl Jordan said at the April 18 School Board Meeting.
Slated to begin his term as principal for the 2023-24 school year, he hopes to deliver an education that students feel motivated to stay committed to, Wohlman said. That experience largely starts with a principal who is seen as much as possible, he said.
“I think it starts with saying, ‘I want to hear their voice,’” Wohlman said. “People say, ‘How can you do that with 3,000 students?’ and maybe that’s about being more visible than people are used to. Part of my motto in education has always been ‘Every classroom, every day.’”
In addition to visibility, another important factor for next year is his belief in the power of relationships amongst students, staff, and the community, Wohlman said.
“Your relationships are the platform of everything you do,” Wohlman said. “Anybody can say we need to raise test scores, we need to do this and that, but you can’t do any of that without your relationships. Otherwise, you’re going to have one person trying to make a huge effect, and everybody ends up working as individuals.”
Wohlman imagines that he will take charge of the role by leading new solutions for the campus, but that first starts with listening to what the members from the community actually need, Wohlman said.
“A common flaw is to walk into a system and implement change right away,” Wohlman said. “Sure, I could make those guesses, but I’m going to break relationships or put up barriers for relationships before I even have a conversation with people. Part of the plan is to hear your voice,” he said.
Wohlman’s career in education has spanned many parts of the country — he started in Minnesota as a teacher and then moved into administrative roles at schools in Nevada, Alaska, and California, Wohlman said.
“He told me he sometimes travels about 300 miles one way in order to get to a school site,” Jordan said. “Even though he has that great distance that he has to travel, he is still very visible.”
French teacher Lisa Topping is curious as to how he will navigate his new environment next year, Topping said.
“We (teachers) always worry that, coming from a small school to a big school, how that’s going to work?” Topping said. “Are they ready for our huge school and our diverse population?”
Topping’s 31 years at MHS has shown her that visibility by administration is key, and that extends to developing good relationships with teachers, Topping said.
“I want a principal that knows the teachers’ strengths and weaknesses so that they can mentor, encourage, and develop leaders in the staff,” Topping said. “I’m hoping that he’s the coach of our team.”
While decisions by school administrators can’t always be popular amongst all people, a solid administration and student body relationship ensures that trust isn’t completely lost whenever there’s disagreement, Wohlman said.
“Every decision, somebody is going to disagree somewhere,” Wohlman said. “Part of the relationship is collecting as much information as possible to make the best decision possible.”
Although Wohlman is not from Milpitas, he embodies the strategic goals of the district as made evident by his accomplishments at schools he has led before, Jordan said.
“The high school that he was principal at burned down, and the way that he was able to get school going again is kind of similar to MUSD when the COVID shutdown occurred,” Jordan said. “Within about three days of the high school burning down, they were able to figure out a way to have high school kids complete their high school education.”
Wohlman looks forward to leading the district’s future facility, the Innovation Campus, on top of MHS principal, Wohlman said. The Innovation Campus combined with the Milpitas Middle College offers a diverse set of options for students to choose from, which is crucial for students to stay engaged in their education, he added.
“It comes down to supporting students on their journey — that’s the biggest achievement to me — knowing that we created a safe place, a place that’s relevant, a place where there are pathways to pick and choose from.”
Progress towards more enhanced, relevant, and safe education is something that Milpitas is leading the way on, Wohlman said.
“My hope is that you will feel that Culture of We that is still real the moment you park your car, or get off a bus,” Wohlman said.