Tom Lombardi is one of the new assistant principals for the 2024-2025 school year. He is a graduate of Upper Arlington High School, and many Jones Middle School graduates are familiar with his sister, the Learning Center librarian. Lombardi appears to have a very what’s-not-to-love attitude towards not only the school, teachers and students, but also the sense of community throughout UAHS. As an Upper Arlington alum, Lombardi remains fond of the quality of teachers, as well as staff in general.
“[Teachers] are super invested in their students, and willing to do whatever their students ask them,” Lombardi said.
He isn’t just an administrator, he also lives here in Upper Arlington, and holds pride in the unique richness the community holds.
For a long time, Lombardi did not know exactly what occupation or field of work he wanted to pursue. It wasn’t until his senior thesis class, a project made obsolete by the imminent capstone, where his research and writing revealed that he should go into education.
“It is a tall task for 18-year-olds to have to pick what they want to do,” Lombardi said.
After graduating with a degree certifying him in Ohio K-12 education, Lombardi took a job as a substitute teacher for two years and at Hastings Middle School as a paraprofessional for one year. Then he transferred to Pickerington Central High School to teach numerous social studies courses, spanning from U.S. history to world history to economics, for eight years until moving up to an assistant principal position. After working in Pickerington, he moved back to Upper Arlington to his new job this year.
Students have likely seen Lombardi walking through the hallway, or in Golden Bear Boulevard, and perhaps even inside classrooms. He joined an English class during a graded discussion, likely for one of those teacher evaluations that happens from time to time, but he was seriously paying attention to our thoughts and arguments. Recently, during the student club and activity fair, he could be seen walking to nearly every table. He was eager to learn what every club’s premise and goals are. It’s a great sign to see an administrator want to get to know students and their experiences better, as one job of an assistant principal is to serve as a kind of liaison between students, teachers and administrators.
Being an assistant principal includes much more than overseeing the teaching process. Lombardi attends meetings regularly to discuss anything from the financial status of the school to new policies to something needing to be fixed in the building, or anything else he is assigned to by the principal.
Lombardi is excited to get to know the students here at UAHS, and see how far the school has come since he graduated in 2006. He thinks we have an incredible school and building and that students have to make sure they do not take that for granted, because there is so much potential for graduates to serve, lead and succeed.
