By David Harry
Staff Writer

Jim Holland said he is ready to be principal at South Portland High School.
On Monday, city school board members said they were ready for him to take the job: They  unanimously approved his appointment to replace retired principal Jeanne Crocker. Crocker left at the end of June after 28 years at the school, including 13 as principal.
 “It seemed like a great opportunity at the right time,” Holland said.
School Board member Rick Matthews was part of the search committee that selected Holland from a field of about 30 applicants in three rounds of interviews.
“Jim was a candidate who said he was ready to take on South Portland,” Mathews said. “He stood above the others and his eagerness to start was a real factor.”
Holland comes to South Portland after serving last year as principal at Livermore Falls High School and the previous six years as assistant principal at Cony High School in Augusta.
School Superintendent Suzanne Godin said Holland was signed to a one-year contract and will be paid $93,000.
One-year contracts are standard for city school building administrators, Godin said.
Holland taught science at Cony from 1986 through 2004 and at Lawrence Junior High School from 1983 through 1986 before he became an administrator.
Holland said last year he was in charge of improving student performance at Livermore Falls, which was designated as “underperforming” by the federal Department of Education because of test scores.
He said he implemented a $1.2 million federal grant to improve test scores and added laptop computers and a reading program to the school. Holland said the essence of student success was still basic.
“Student engagement is always critical,” he said.
Holland cited two factors as especially attractive to him for the South Portland job – the expansion and renovation project and emphasis on expansion of science, technology, engineering and math teaching curriculum, commonly called STEM teaching.
A new school was built in 2006 during his tenure at Cony High School. Holland participated in planning and technology committees during the process and was part of the transition team that moved students to the new school and developed the school’s emergency and evacuation procedures.
Holland said public enthusiasm for the $47 million South Portland project excited him and showed him the depth of community support for city schools.
“This has been a well thought out process,” Holland said.
The STEM curriculum resembles courses Holland taught that integrated math, physics and industrial arts, he said. Students stepped out of the classroom to learn practical elements of the courses in tours at Central Maine Power Co. in Augusta, he said.
In South Portland, the STEM curriculum and teaching stipend are supported by a three-year, $225,000 grant from the National Semiconductor Foundation.
Holland said he will emphasize professional collaboration between teachers and added he already sees it in action at the high school. The team approach that allows teachers from varied subjects to teach with common themes and meet to discuss student progress is critical, he said.
“This is something high-performing schools have as a practice,” Holland said.
School Superintendent Suzanne Godin said the department will host an event to introduce Holland to parents and students. Holland said he welcomes visitors to his new office as he settles in.