By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.– The school district has a new middle school principal, as well as a new assistant principal at the high school.

Mike Tucker, the former BHS assistant principal, was named the new BMS principal earlier this month after Tina Chambers left to take a curriculum director position in the Atherton School District.

Tucker, who is starting his sixth year with Brandon, is now the district’s longest-serving administrator, notes Superintendent Matt Outlaw, who adds that while Chambers did a really nice job at the middle school and will be missed, he is excited to have a known quality to take the lead at that building.

“Mike has been exemplary at the high school and we are excited to see what he will do at the middle school,” said Outlaw. “We did not interview anyone else, this was an internal move, he has been interviewing for five years and a star for five years, and this is in the best interest of the district and students.”
Tucker was surprised when Outlaw approached him about taking the helm at BMS.

“I wasn’t looking for the opportunity, it just became available and I didn’t hesitate for one instant when Dr. Outlaw asked me,” said Tucker, who prior to coming to Brandon taught English for 14 years at Bentley High School in Burton. “I’m very excited and very honored, I love the fact that I get to continue to be part of the Brandon School District and would like to continue the good programs and teaching practices that Tina Chambers put into place… I think that the middle schoolers need to have their voice heard, sometimes they don’t feel their opinions are valued or even listened to, I want to be the person they can express themselves to, whether it’s academics, or athletics or social.”

Tucker’s replacement as Brandon High School assistant principal will be David Wyatt, who the board unanimously approved for the position at their Oct. 17 meeting.

Wyatt was chosen from among 153 applicants, 23 of whom were interviewed.

“David was a standout,” said Outlaw. “We had a couple really, really strong ones and he was our choice… He’s a great choice and he’s going to do a good job for us.”

Wyatt’s appeal includes leadership experience and ties to Brandon both past and present.

He didn’t grow up here, but his mother did, and his grandmother still lives here.

Wyatt and his wife of five years, Stephanie, bought the home next door to his grandmother’s house four years ago.

Wyatt was a student teacher at Brandon in the 2009-2010 school year, in the classrooms of BHS teachers Tim Pizzala, Joel Dohm and Todd Duncan, prior to earning his bachelor’s degree in history with a certification in secondary education from Oakland University in 2010. That same year, he began teaching social studies in the Waterford School District. He was a student activities director for six years at Waterford Mott High School, and for the past three years, has been the assistant athletic director at Mott. He also coached football at Waterford, as well as Bloomfield Hills Andover, and also coached varsity football at Brandon in 2012, although he stopped coaching in 2013 due to increased leadership duties.

“I truly feel like everything I have done, my philosophy, the way I interact, is what I learned from Brandon,” said Wyatt. “There are a lot of amazing things happening at Brandon and I’m very excited to be part of it again. It was a dream to come back to Brandon. That was my end point and it happened a lot sooner than I thought it would. I’m excited to be part of the school system that my own children will be part of one day.”