[img]2850|right|Lisa Cooper||no_popup[/img]Not so fast on identifying the new permanent principal of Culver City High School.
Dr. Lisa Cooper, the popular interim principal for 3½ months, since Dylan Farris’s departure, is not ready to declare her candidacy.
As the School District prepares to turn on the engine and formally start a search, the favored choice says she needs more time to decide.
The last 100 days have brought unparalleled excitement into her professional life. After Mr. Farris abruptly resigned in October to take another posting, Dr. Cooper – then plain Ms. Cooper – was elevated. Two months later, she earned her doctorate.
And now the plum of permanence ostensibly beckons.
The question posed late yesterday afternoon was:
May it be presumed you will apply for the permanent position?
“Honestly,” she replied, with a gush of typical energy and enthusiasm, “I haven’t had a chance to make a final decision – only because we have had so much going on here.
“We are starting a new program on Thursday. We have a new bell schedule. I kind of want to get through that whole process before I sit down and make the decision.”
Dr. Cooper quickly appended a statement of positive feelings while her announcement lingered in the air.
“Of course I want to stay in Culver City,” she said. “I have been here nine years. This is home.”
Still, deciding to plunge into the principal derby arguably is the biggest call of her career.
“I am almost 100 percent there,” Dr. Cooper said. “But I want to make sure I am looking at everything.
“It definitely entails a lot of responsibility. I want to make sure that I can keep that going.”
There is a matter of family.
“I have to take into consideration, first of all, my daughter,” with the heavenly name, Heaven. “She will be going here next year.”
Finally, the thorough Dr. Cooper said, “I want to make sure I am looking at everything from every aspect.”