WASILLA — If Thomas Lytle is approved as the first principal of South Palmer Elementary by the Mat-Su Borough School Board tomorrow, he’ll set the pace at the Borough’s newest learning center.

Lytle, 32, was chosen by a hiring committee for the top post at South Palmer. Two days before the school board’s meeting, he said, if approved, he’s ready to get down to business.

“I want to develop a good atmosphere for kids to develop and grow in,” Lytle said of his goals as principal. Born in Pennsylvania, Lytle received his post-secondary education in Oregon and moved to Alaska after marrying a Palmer native who wanted to come home.

He began his tenure at Tanaina in 2000 as a third-grade teacher, and has continued at the school teaching fifth grade and kindergarten before becoming principal in 2006.

Lytle, along with the other candidates for the job, went through an extensive question-and-answer session with the hiring committee.

Board member Sarah Welton, a member of the committee, said the candidates’ background, experience and what they will offer to the school were considered.

“A lot of it had to do with the questions and how people answered the questions,” Welton said.

She couldn’t elaborate on why the committee chose Lytle, however, because hiring interviews are typically confidential personnel issues.

Welton did say past experiences for each candidate played a critical role.

“When someone discusses experience, that’s something you take as being important.”

On Monday, Lytle said he has great ideas to implement at South Palmer.

“My general vision at this point for the school is to create an atmosphere where kids can be academic.”

He’ll also take advantage of South Palmer’s prototype design, which uses a new style of floor plan.

District officials say the 52,306-square-foot building was designed with innovative learning spaces in mind.

Many of those spaces consist of an open floor plan designed so students can learn in a more independent way while still under the supervision of their teacher.

Classrooms also have southern exposure, ensuring at least some sunlight to brighten the school day during winter.

Lytle said, if hired, any decisions he makes will be done via committee, which will include faculty, staff, parents and maybe even some local business leaders.

Since South Palmer is a brand new school, Lytle said it has the opportunity to start out in the right direction and better its chance of staying on course.

“You have the opportunity, along with the community, to go in there and decide the direction that school’s going to be moving,” he said. “The community plays a huge role.”

If hired, he’ll also step into a new elementary school at a time when news reports have painted a picture of Alaska’s troubled education system.

The state has double the drop-out rate of the rest of the United States, according to studies.

Lytle said there are ways to combat that, and much of it begins early when a student is forming the base for how he or she will learn in the coming years.

“It’s about having instruction that is based on good assessments,” Lytle said.

The district already uses various assessments throughout the school year to gauge the progress of individual students.

Lytle said those assessments should be taken seriously, and be acted upon as soon as it’s clear a student is having a challenge in a particular area.

“There has to be a lot more attention paid to individual student needs,” he said.

The board will vote on Lytle’s employment at its Wednesday evening board meeting. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in Palmer High School Upper Library.

Contact Michael Rivet at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.