New principal for North High School

The Valley Stream Central High School District Board of Education voted on May 12 to hire a replacement for North High School Principal Clifford Odell, who was appointed as the district’s assistant superintendent for personnel and administration in March.

The board voted unanimously to approve the appointment of James Bolan, currently an assistant principal at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School. He will assume the role at the start of the district’s new fiscal year on July 1. Odell, who will oversee Bolan, interviewed him for the position, and said that he was confident Bolan was the right choice for the job.

“When I spoke with him, one thing that was made clear to me is that he made great personal connections, and that’s exceptionally important as the leader of a school,” Odell said. “He was clearly a high-quality educator capable of adding a lot to our school.”

The search for Odell’s replacement began almost immediately after he was promoted, according to Superintendent Bill Heidenreich. He said he spoke with the school board about beginning the search immediately after Odell was appointed on March 10. The district began advertising the position five days later, and soon received more than 50 applications.

From those, Heidenreich and his staff selected six candidates who met with a committee of parents, students, teachers, secretaries and other district staff members.

That committee recommended three candidates, who were then interviewed by Heidenreich and Odell, who in turn recommended two of them to the school board, which interviewed both and selected Bolan.

Heidenreich said that Bolan stood out from the start.

“One thing that really struck me is how highly we thought of Mr. Bolan throughout this entire process,” he said. “When my staff and I were first reading through resumes, we pulled his out as one that we thought had maybe the best chance to succeed. Then, when he met with the committee, we were told that he was their favorite. He really impressed us in both interviews after that, so we are confident we have a great candidate.”

Board President Larry Trogel said Bolan’s wealth of experience and personality were apparent.

“We had two very good candidates, but his background — his prior teaching positions and his time as an assistant principal — really set him apart,” Trogel said. “He has a great demeanor, he’s very outgoing … He brings some very good ideas of his own to our district, and I think he’s going to do a great job of moving the school forward and keeping everyone involved.”

Before becoming assistant principal of JFK High School, Bolan taught U.S. history, government and economics classes, and also served as the Herricks Teachers Association’s executive vice president. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications from Boston College and a master’s degree in education with a focus in social studies, grades 7 through 12, from Fordham University. He also earned school building leader accreditation at Stony Brook University.

Bolan said he was drawn to the district based on its strong academic reputation. He said he hoped to learn about the district and looked forward to building relationships within in.

“This is an exciting opportunity,” he said. “To be called on by a district like Valley Stream Central High School District is truly an honor. It’s vital — getting a sense of the needs of the students, parents, faculty, and getting a sense of the shared goals and visions they have, and to implement those in my first year.”

Odell said that the coming change would be positive. “While he’s certainly going to have to learn about our faculty, students, curriculum and instruction,” he said, “there is an expectation that he’s going to add his own level of expertise to better our school.”