new Principal at GPHS
In this article, Naia Olivier interviews the new principal for GPHS and dives deeper into her life and new career path.
New principal at gphs
By Naia Olivier
In Feb. 2023, Michelle Napier was hired as the new principal for GPHS. This is significant, in part, because she will be Grants Pass High School's first-ever female principal. A week after officially being announced as the chosen candidate for the position, she met with The Scroll to answer some questions about herself and her new career.
Photo credit: District 7
Grants Pass High School is 137 years old. The selection of Napier as principal marks history because she will be the first female principal. Regarding this honor, she says, “I'm super excited. It's an honor. I'm honored that they chose me as the principal. To be recognized as the first female principal is a really cool thing and hopefully, it shows that anything is possible, for everybody. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it and work hard, and you go after your dreams." This addition to GPHS' history is impactful to not only Napier but also to the community and especially to young women at GPHS.
The Grants Pass High School community means everything to Napier. She has been in District 7 for her entire educational career: 24 years. She told The Scroll, “ I was born and raised in Grants Pass, went here for high school and graduated in 1993, went to college came back, and I've lived here ever since. This community, to me, is everything. It's family, unity, and support. We have each other's backs and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.”
Two other administrators from different schools were also interviewed for the position and, after much consideration, Napier was chosen. When The Scroll asked her why she applied to be the principal, she said, “Instructural practices and curriculum and that kinda stuff is my jam.” As a principal, Napier will use those tools when instructing staff at GPHS. She says, “Helping teachers be the best versions of themselves is the best job.”
Before applying for principal, Napier was an administrator at GPHS and, before that, she was a teacher. According to the District 7 home page, she returned to GPHS to teach after getting her degree at SOU. She spent 20 years in the classroom teaching, Health, AVID, and PE. After teaching, she got her administrative license and has been one of the assistant principals at GPHS since. Regarding the transition between the two, she said, “I decided to go into administration from teaching because I thought that [although] I loved teaching and being in the classroom with kids, I could make a bigger impact on more kids if I was to help the teachers [as an administrator]."
Napier has specific ideals, beliefs, and missions that will guide her as the new principal at GPHS. Her mission statement is "To provide a safe environment for students and teachers to challenge themselves both in and out of the classroom, personally and professionally." Her belief statement reads: "I believe that ALL students can be successful and they all deserve the opportunity to shape their future. It is our job as educators to provide them with hope and show them that we believe in them." Both of these statements not only show what type of individual Napier is but also represent the type of principal she will strive to be. sh is the type of administrator GPHS and the whole of District 7 needs.
