In the 2016-17 school year, the AHS community will welcome a new assistant principal, Grant Safranek, who is currently a dean of a charter school in Boulder.

AHS principal Tharyn Mulberry noted that picking an assistant principal was a very specific process geared towards improving parts of AHS that are currently lacking, particularly the disciplinary and attendance systems. Additionally, Mulberry added that he was looking for someone who could help balance his weaknesses.

“One thing we really need development on here is the attendance system, and [Safranek] has experience with that. He also is a big proponent of restorative justice,” Mulberry said. “We’re not so punitive here, and I don’t want to be punitive as a school. I think that the philosophy here in the community is that we really want kids to give back instead of doing something meaningless when they make a mistake, and that’s what we’re working towards here.”

Mulberry added that of course if a student is caught breaking the law, they will face the legal ramifications and consequences, but if a student is caught skipping class or excessively arguing with another student or teacher, the consequence should be something that gives back to the school and community instead of simply reprimanding the student.

“I think kids make mistakes, and I’m confident that consequence needs to match the mistake,” Mulberry said.

The process of finding a new assistant principal was a long one, with lots of time and thought put into it. There were forty applicants for the job, and of those forty, eight were interviewed. After that, the committee of department leaders decided on four final candidates, and from there, Mulberry  made the final decision to hire Safranek.

Mulberry acknowledged that contrary to what has become popular belief within the student community, the departure former assistant principal John Bangley was not sudden or unexpected.

“It wasn’t sudden. John and I had been talking about him leaving since January, although it just wasn’t public knowledge until recently,” Mulberry said while laughing. “His wife lived in Florida, and he decided he needed to go home.”

The position for assistant principal was posted for a month before the screening process even began; this time ensuring that Mulberry would be able to find a good fit for the school. What with the changes in administration in the past years, Mulberry was looking for someone he could work with consistently to develop the school over time.

“There hasn’t been a lot of consistency for kids, and I think that’s crucial,” Mulberry said. “One of the things I’m finding difficult about Aspen is that there’s a lot of fluctuation in the community, so I definitely hope Grant stays for a while so we can really work on developing our school.”