Stephanie Griffin, PUSD’s Director of Instructional Technology, is leaving the district on Nov. 27 after 31 years working in Piedmont.
Griffin announced her departure on Oct. 30. She has been a member of the PUSD staff since 1995 and will be leaving to work at Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD), Griffin said.
“I am writing to share that I will be leaving at the end of November to embark on a new chapter,” Griffin said in her letter to faculty members. “I have accepted a new position with Tamalpais Union High School District as Senior Director of Technology Services.”
After Nov. 27, there will be a temporary vacancy in the position as PUSD will need to look for a replacement for her.
“There’s going to be a vacancy for a while,” Griffin said. “But the district is going to look for someone who can step in and keep the wheels on track.”
Griffin said her reasons for leaving is that the timing felt just right. More specifically, her children have recently graduated from PUSD, and TUHSD is improving its infrastructure under a new bond.
“They have a big bond program going on, so they’re doing a lot of building,” Griffin said. “Some of that is going into technology product projects.”
Griffin’s time at Piedmont has left her prepared for her move to TUHSD, said PMS assistant principal and former PMS tech coordinator Adam Saville.
“I don’t know exactly how similar [her new job] will be, ” Saville said. “But I think she’ll be doing a lot of the things she’s done for us. ”
“She’s being hired for a skill set she’s already very strong in, but also managing an IT department, and then improving educational technology,” PHS tech coordinator Jana Branisa said. “She’s perfectly suited for that. She’s done it incredibly well for PUSD.”
The timeline for the tech department in Piedmont is uncertain with Griffin’s departure, particularly in finding her replacement, Branisa said.
“One of the challenges we have at PUSD is that she’s been doing multiple jobs at the same time,” Branisa said. “So she’s been acting as two people as just one, and to find someone with both [of her skill sets] will be difficult.”
Outside of finding a replacement, because of just how much Griffin has been doing for the district, the tech department’s responsibilities will increase as they fill in temporarily for Griffin, Branisa said.
“Someone has to respond if something’s not functioning the way it’s supposed to,” Branisa said. “[The tech department] will. That’s what we’re going to be doing in the coming weeks, and the week after that to come up to speed.”
The challenge in replacing Griffin isn’t only in finding a qualified person, but also in replacing who she was, both Saville and Branisa said.
“She works very hard to create presentations for the administration, the community, and the staff,” said Branisa. “She will be very difficult to replace — Stephanie Griffin the person, the personality, and the professional.”
“Any district that has the opportunity to work with Stephanie is going to be really lucky,” Saville said. “I’m really sad to see her go because she’s been a fantastic leader and director of instructional technology for us.”