Not only did September 3 mark the beginning of high school for a new wave of freshmen, but Brighton High School welcomed a new principal into its halls as well.
Gavin Johnson’s announcement that he was leaving his longtime position as Brighton High School’s lead principal took many students and community members by surprise. Nine months later, the four-principal team has become whole again with the addition of Jennifer Napuli.
Napuli, who was chosen from a field of 66 candidates vying for the position, will serve as the grade-level principal for the class of 2028. Although she originally hails from Michigan, she has spent the past fifteen years in Palm Beach County, Florida, where she taught chemistry for twelve years and served as an assistant administrator at a top-ranked magnet performing arts high school for three years.
Napuli said she eventually decided that it was time to return to her roots, so she moved back to Michigan with her family this past June. She was attracted to Brighton in particular, especially as a wife and a mother of three.
“We really liked the community here, so we decided it was a good place for our children and to raise them…Getting a job here was the absolute icing on the cake,” Napuli said.
Napuli said that she had been interested in BHS even before Johnson retired and ultimately opened up a grade-level administrator position, so she was “pretty ecstatic” when she saw the job posting. However, being chosen out of such a large pool was an entirely different kind of honor.
“I mean, you have high hopes and no idea that that many people apply until after the fact, but I am very privileged and blessed to be here, and I’m very happy that you guys chose me,” Napuli said.
Coming from a nationally-ranked school, Napuli is familiar with the academic and extracurricular qualifications students need to attend top universities. However, she also understands the pressures that they face and wants to ensure that students have access to the support that they need.
“I have extensive history with mental health, and I’m kind of looking forward to bringing some of that support here for students, so that if they ever need anything, they know that I’m here and I care about them,” Napuli said. “You’re not just numbers on a page or classes behind your name, but you’re an individual, too.”
Napuli said that she is excited to spend the next several months getting acclimated to BHS alongside the class of freshmen that she will be supervising.
“I’m really excited to get to know my freshmen and the freshmen team of teachers that mostly supports them, build from there, and insert ideas here and there,” Napuli said.
