No one prepared for principal's departure No one prepared for principal's departure (June 23, 2004)

By Jim MacKenzie

There was stunned silence in the library. During my career I have attended scores of faculty meetings, but I will always remember this one as particularly perplexing.

Principal Eric Hartwig had just announced to the staff that he would leave Menlo-Atherton at the end of this school year. None of us had been prepared for this news and the ramifications were just beginning to be realized. The immediate reaction from many of us was "Why?" How could he possibly abandon us at this point? What had happened to convince the principal that it was his time to step down?

Eric tried to lighten the blow by explaining that there was no major negative event that had led to this decision, but rather new opportunities and challenges that had been presented to him by the district superintendent.

Normally I would need no rationale for a principal hanging it up. I believe it is one of the most difficult jobs to do well in any profession. Most high school principals last only four to five years before they burn out. Eric Hartwig is my 10th principal during a 35-year career, so I was accustomed to the turnover, but somehow Eric was different. He will finish his tenure at M-A as the longest-serving leader in the school's history--over nine years.

I had always anticipated that Eric would retire from M-A and spend his "golden years" with his wife Debbie at their apartment in Paris or vineyard in Woodside. That is not to be.

Principal Hartwig has developed a good working rapport with incredibly diverse and demanding constituencies -- the teaching and classified staffs, students, parents, various school committees and organizations, district administration, board of trustees, media, and the community-at-large.

Eric is a gifted administrator. He started his career as an English teacher and still communicates to all factions very well. He is practical, articulate, hard-working, and, most importantly, involved. He has had an enlightened and lofty vision for the school, is extroverted and actually seems to enjoy attending meetings (although his gift of gab has unnecessarily prolonged many of these convocations).

Eric had made a noticeable and significant impact at the school over the past decade. Highlights include his advocacy of two bond elections, leading to the reconstruction of M-A's campus. Most noticeable are new classrooms, administration building, library, counseling offices, teacher lounge/workroom, a second gymnasium, and athletic facilities including pool, track and fields. He has championed many innovative programs such as Compass (for at-risk students), AVID, RISE, freshman transition, tutoring, conflict mediation, parent networking and the BUILD program. Menlo-Atherton now has more AP classes than any other school in the area and Eric made sure these courses were more inclusive -- we quadrupled the number of tests taken and the number of non-white students taking them while maintaining a passing rate of almost 80 percent.

He also took an interest in testing programs, closed campus, block scheduling, SDAIE classes, English language learners, and arena registration. He hired more than 60 percent of the current staff, and has been a primary supporter of school spirit, a clean campus, school governance procedures and parent involvement. Eric has made himself available to the community, press, feeder schools, Rotary, the Foundation for the Future and, of course, the Menlo-Atherton student body.

Sequoia District Superintendent Pat Gemma said in a statement: Eric has provided M-A with nine years of leadership that has helped bring the school to high levels of student achievement and national acclaim. Many understand that this change brings a sense of renewal and new beginning for Eric himself, the M-A community and the entire Sequoia School District. We are very excited to have Eric's experience, expertise and leadership spearheading efforts to develop and implement alternative educational opportunities for our growing student population.

Having a capable and efficient administrator makes an enormous difference in how the school is perceived and how well it functions. Eric Hartwig will not only leave a meaningful legacy at Menlo-Atherton, but his departure will also create a major void. On behalf of the staff, I would like to express our appreciation and gratitude for his leadership and friendship, and wish him the utmost success in his future endeavors.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.