By Tyler Kirkendall
Photo by Jeff Hall
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Pickerington Proud
New principals take the reins at Pickerington North and Central
P
ickerington’s high schools are under new leadership starting this school year, as new principals step up at both Pickerington North and Pickerington Central. Tom Lanier and Jim Campbell have both raised children in the district and are excited to represent the town they lovingly call home. Both take over with an eye on transitioning students and families back to a sense of normalcy after a challenging few years. Staying Central Tom Lanier, the new Central High School principal, is as passionate about Pickerington as anyone. He and his wife, Ann, chose to come to Pickerington almost 30 years ago for the great schools and community bond. The whole family has close ties to 16
Pickerington Local School District: Ann is a first grade teacher at Toll Gate Elementary, and all four of the Lanier children graduated from Pickerington schools. “When you’re living in Pickerington, you get all the amenities and benefits of the greater Columbus metropolitan area and it’s balanced with still kind of that small town, small community feel of being there for one another,” Lanier says. “I think that’s what makes Pickerington special. We come together and we’re there for each other.” Lanier is replacing Stacy Tennenbaum, who will become principal of Fairfield Elementary. Lanier was a lead assistant principal at Pickerington High School North and, for the last five years, has been the principal at Westerville Central High School.
His love for his community is reflected in a passion for building personal relationships with both students and staff in his district. “The challenge is, it’s a matter of time and effort to get to know people,” Lanier says. “It’s a very positive thing and exciting thing to get to know people, new people, and get to work with them in a different way and help them build the system that’s in place to be successful.” Lanier looks forward to rebuilding and fostering the sense of community that was hampered by the pandemic and resulting mix of online and in-person classes. Still, he credits his experience during the pandemic at Westerville for giving him valuable insights about meeting students’ unique needs and expectations. “Today’s students demand a little bit www.pickeringtonmagazine.com
