Palmyra High School’s new principal, Lisa Sabo, introduces herself to the borough
Stephen Finn
The Sun
Palmyra High School welcomed not one but two new administrators over the summer. First, Principal Lisa Sabo, followed shortly after by Vice Principal Jared Toscano. The two are new to the district and are working together to bring fresh ideas to the high school.
Sabo is originally from Bordentown, which according to her, is a lot like Palmyra in a number of ways.
“I always told myself I would never be that teacher that returns to the town that I grew up in,” said Sabo.
Despite her best laid plans, Sabo did just that, and after teaching at Mercer County Special Services for a year after college, she came back to Bordentown where she taught special education for nine years and eventually worked her way up to become the assistant principal at Bordentown High School.
As an assistant principal, Sabo always knew she would eventually like to step into the role of a principal.
“Although I was in no rush I thought, ‘Every year as an assistant I’m learning something different, something more.’ I never felt like I was quite prepared to make that jump, and yet so much of it is learning on the job,” said Sabo.
She overcame her initial uncertainty and began applying wherever there were openings in the area. Last May, she applied for the open position at Palmyra High School.
“What attracted me to Palmyra was that the demographics were so similar to Bordentown and the population is so similar. There’s a small-town feel, you have generations of families that have been here for so long. Kids, parents and grandparents coming through the same system, and I think that says so much about the community, just like it did in Bordentown,” said Sabo.
The similar feel of the two towns made the idea of a transition feel more natural. At her first round of interviews, there were around 15 other applicants who were whittled down to three by the second round. By the end of June, she was offered the position, and she submitted her resignation to Bordentown High School.
Although she felt familiar with Palmyra given its similarities to the town she had worked in previously, she knew she would have a lot to learn about the way things work in her new environment.
“I was told ‘There’s the right way, the wrong way and the Palmyra way,’” said Sabo.
Toscano was hired just a month after her. The two knew they would have to hit the ground running together with the new school year rapidly approaching.
“(Jared) Toscano and I had to get on the same page and really take a look at what we may want to address without coming in and changing everything,” said Sabo.
They spent the summer brainstorming about what could be made more efficient or work better for the school. That they were both new to Palmyra meant they could figure things out together and support each other in that way.
“We’re kind of letting the teachers and students and community mold us according to what they want their vision to be,” said Sabo.
According to Sabo the “Palmyra way” she was told about during her interview process has to do with the fact that many districts do things one way for so long that it becomes comfortable. Sabo wishes to keep with traditions while also looking for ways to improve on them. Being a newcomer to the area, she believes she comes with fresh ideas and perspectives to offer the school.
“We’re certainly not saying the old way didn’t work, it’s just how can we make it work better?” said Sabo.
