Pollitt Named Principal of Harrison High School

Joe Pollitt brings 14 years of administrative experience to SLSD, the past two as Principal of Northwest High School.

Joe Pollitt. Photo provided.

(Harrison, Oh.) - The Southwest Local School District is pleased to announce that Joseph W. Pollitt has been named Principal of William Henry Harrison High School. Pollitt’s appointment was approved by the Board of Education at their meeting on June 16, 2022.

Joe Pollitt brings 14 years of administrative experience to SLSD, the past two as Principal of Northwest High School. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Principal at Colerain High School, the Athletic Director at Northwest High School, and Assistant Principal at White Oak Middle School. Mr. Pollitt spent seven years in the classroom as a Social Studies teacher at Colerain High School before moving into administration.

Mr. Pollitt comes to Harrison with extensive experience in secondary school curriculum. At Colerain High School he taught all four grade levels, working with students of all academic ability levels. As an administrator he served as a curriculum specialist for all content areas, concentrating on data analysis, assessment, and improving instruction. He helped shape the district’s instructional framework and worked to set up a job-embedded coaching model. Additionally, he served on the district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team and worked to bring culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices into the classroom.

“We had some incredible candidates for this position and Joe, with his wide-array of administrative experiences, checked all the boxes in furthering our mission at Harrison High School,” said John C. Hamstra, Superintendent of Southwest Local Schools. “He cares deeply about student success and fully understands the rich history here at SLSD.”

Joe has been married to his wife, Sara, for 19 years. The couple has two sons, 15-year-old Dylan and 12- year-old Brennan. He enjoys sports and music and has spent seven seasons coaching select baseball.

”I am extremely excited about the opportunity to join the Southwest Local School District and serve the Harrison community as the High School Principal,” said Pollitt. “I know there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm around everything happening at Harrison High School, and I'm looking forward to jumping right in to not only support the academic and extracurricular activities, but to also help move them forward.”