On Oct. 3, the Bonita Vista High (BVH) community anticipated the announcement of who would  be the temporary principal after former BVH principal Roman Del Rosario Ed.D left the position. Later that same day, former Hilltop High principal Lee Romero was announced as the interim principal and was formally given the title of BVH’s permanent principal on Dec. 1. 

In three words, Romero describes his past three months as principal as “overwhelming, empowered and blessed.” Despite a “sense of responsibility” for overseeing approximately “2300 kids and 200 staff members,” he restates his purpose. He feels as though he was brought to this school for a reason.

“Every day I come into work, I’m not thinking, ‘Oh crap, I have a lot of things I have to do.’ I think about all the good things I could still bring because I’m a very optimistic person,” Romero said. “I feel like I have a purpose here and it’s to talk about things that move me and drive me as a young man, an older man, a father, a student, a husband, and so forth.”

Moreover, Romero has been able to establish relationships with many of the students over these past months. When first arriving at BVH, he explicitly stated that he wanted to “excite people by being a Baron.” For example, Romero’s appearance at an away basketball game at Eastlake High (EHS) garnered a positive reaction.

“Two weeks ago, we did the assembly and I thought it was okay. But at the EHS game, the kids asked me to do the cheer [we learned at the assembly] during a timeout. The reaction I got from Dog Pound, the parents and the team was so positive. They were like, ‘Dang, I’ve never seen a principal do that,” Romero said.

On the student end, junior Aaliyah Victoria interacts with Romero on a weekly basis. She states that he frequently stops by her International Baccalaureate Environmental Systems and Societies class and she also sees him when he makes appearances at the assemblies, as she is a part of BVH’s dance team.

“It’s kind of surprising for him to see all the stuff that we’re doing at the school,” Victoria said. “For example, when it was the last day of first semester and he showed up in a Santa costume. I don’t think I’ve ever had a negative interaction with him.”

Victoria states the “welcoming feeling” has been present both during Del Rosario’s time as a principal and during Romero’s time as a principal. However, she states that she is able to start a conversation with Romero by going up to him more comfortably. 

“I think it’s different in the aspect that Mr. Romero wants to promote school spirit and with that, build the school community, I feel like he makes more of an effort to go out of his way to talk to students individually,” Victoria said. 

Furthermore, as a student, Victoria notes that he is on the right track for reaching his goal of raising the student voice. Currently, she has no issues she would like to bring up with Romero, but if she did, she would feel “comfortable enough” to communicate with him. 

“I feel like every week it’s something new with him as he tries to figure out ways to communicate with the student body. I don’t think I have something that I feel like he could work on because every week it’s him trying to push himself to do something new,” Victoria said. 

Because Victoria is a junior, next year will be the first year where she will get to experience Romero as a principal present for the entirety of a school year. While the class of 2023 debates the idea of two separate graduation ceremonies on Jun 1., she takes note of how interesting it will be to see how Romero responds to seniors’ desires to have one graduation ceremony at Hilltop High. 

“I would have to say I’m looking forward to the school community because that is something that he does really well. So that’s gonna be exciting going into senior year, especially with being on the dance team and a part of different clubs that allows me to feel more connected to my school community. So with that, and having Mr. Romero on top of it makes the experience a little bit better,” Victoria said. 

On the other hand, senior Howard Hamilton is one of the students who dislikes the idea of two graduations and believes Romero has not been able to raise student voice within the BVH community. For example, he would like to see Romero send out surveys to students to have more of a direct influence on decisions, such as graduation. However, Hamilton does recognize Romero’s contribution to the school community. 

“He’s a pretty fun guy. He does well in showing up and having the students [show up] and being like a good face for the school. I think he does that really well,” Hamilton said.

Romero feels as though he is serving the students rather than the BVH community. Romero expresses his gratitude for students and staff being open to discussing topics such as graduation with him. 

“I thought, ‘I’m glad that students feel comfortable with me and that they can come in and talk to me, knowing that I’m not going to jump down their throats.’ Their opinion is very important to me,” Romero said. “I believe that I’m making a difference with kids and they feel like I’m accessible to them because I work for you guys.”