Ordinarily we wouldn't single out a lone principal appointment here in the Gradebook. But the folks over at Bayonet Point Middle have been particularly anxious about who will lead their school, having gone through five principals in the past seven years and learning that the current one, Steve Knobl, would be leaving from the St. Petersburg Times.

So we pause to note that Mike Asbell (left), an assistant principal at Seven Springs Middle since 2004, will take the helm at Bayonet Point starting Monday. He won School Board approval earlier today.

"The biggest thing that I'm planning on doing is getting in there and getting to know the staff and their concerns," Asbell, who also has worked at Hudson and Ridgewood high schools, told the Gradebook. "The most important thing is to spend a lot of time listening.

As for bringing some desired stability to the school, he said, "That's something that I hope we're going to be able to do."