On July 8, 2016, Pauline Skinner was announced as the interim principal by Bishop Blanchet President Antonio DeSapio. That date also marks the beginning of the search for the next principal of Bishop Blanchet High School.

After a rigorous elimination process in which a 10 person committee, consisting of DeSapio,

Fr. Bryan Dolejsi, Jesse McFeron, Maureen Reid, Ursula Reutin Saltvig, Andrea Seeley,Tara Suchland, Karen Tarabochia, Janah Valenzuela, Matt Wells,reviewed aspects of each candidate including background checks, interviews, and previous experience, the pool of over 20 potential candidates has been pared down to two.

“We have developed a principal candidate profile,” said DeSapio. “They needed to exhibit leadership in three key areas: spiritual leadership, educational leadership, and, finally administrative leadership.”

Bishop Blanchet, as a Catholic high school, requires a principal who can play an active role in the faith life of the community. It involves working with campus ministry and the theology department to maintain the Catholic mission of Blanchet.

Educational leadership is the bulk of the work of the principal. A principal must keep tabs on the curriculum and teachers at Blanchet, plus must focus on all the extracurriculars that surround said academics.

Administrative leadership encompasses management skills needed to run a complex organization. Decision-making and organization are two traits integral for a principal to cover their administrative duties.

The principal candidate profile makes being principal at Blanchet sound like a difficult task, which it wholeheartedly is. DeSapio has great faith in whichever candidate the committee chooses to hire.

“I’m very confident (in the remaining candidates). It’s been a rigorous process that our committee has put our candidates through,” said DeSapio. “I think the best candidate will surface through this next step, which is coming and experiencing the community.”

The final two candidates are Mr. Sam Procopio and Mr. Phillip VanDenBrink.

Procopio, a Blanchet graduate, is currently  works an Administrator at Holy Names Academy. His impressive achievements include  leading HNA through a transition to a one-to-one device program, developing a system for faculty observation, and serving as the head of the Math Department,  In the classroom,Procopio has taught various math classes, entrepreneurial studies and AP computer science, while also coaching the varsity girls soccer team.

VanDenBrink currently works  the Dean of the Savoy Campus at the Leysin American School in Switzerland.  His resume boats such qualifications as developing curriculum, developing an International Baccalaureate program, supervising faculty, and implementing software infrastructure. In the classroom,VanDenBrink focus is teaching English to non-native speakers.