As seen in the construction progress over the last eight months, nothing at Robinson High School is permanent. This includes the principal.

Back in 2016, Hillsborough County School Board members unanimously voted to appoint Bhoolai to replace previous principal Johnny Bush, who had been appointed as the head of the Office of Professional Standards. Working in the district since 2017, Bhoolai served as the Assistant Principal for Student Affairs at Williams Middle Magnet School prior to his appointment to Robinson.

Bhoolai first left back in March of the 2021-2022 school year for a medical emergency leave that required him to travel frequently. He then went on to announce that he would be leaving the school district at the beginning of the summer.

“I felt like it was time for me to step away and for someone else to step into that role to take us to the next level—the same way, hopefully, I did when I replaced Mr. Bush,” Bhoolai said.

Still passionate about improving education for future generations, he’s now a program director with a professional development firm that works with different school districts. Though he no longer works for HCPS, in this new job he’ll be working with Hillsborough County principals and principals of other school districts around the country to provide professional development for principals.

“This was a great opportunity for me to go into school districts around the country and learn how principals are using their authority, their relationships, their power and their autonomy to create better outcomes for kids,” Bhoolai explained.

When starting at Robinson, Bhoolai dealt with Robinson’s reputation from 10 years prior to his arrival, something that kept many military families uncertain in sending their children to the school. But after six years of working with the Wing Commanders and their staffs as well as continuing to grow the IB program, more families are at ease, especially those who recently moved.

“The fact that Robinson offered the IB program was the clincher for us. As a student from Massachusetts, you were already used to a very rigorous academic program,” said Walter Murray, the father of an RHS senior, Rachel Murray, who transferred to the school at the end of her sophomore year, “the IB program at Robinson allowed you to maintain and even exceed those high academic standards.”

His mission from the start has been to build an environment that students want to learn in. After years of efforts to get approval, the reconstruction of the Robinson HS campus was cleared at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. But like the school’s campus, change happens for everyone.

Currently living in South Tampa, he looks forward to continue observing the construction progress until the final product is revealed and even plans on sending his daughters to Robinson, taking pride in the school he looked over for six years.

“I did what I did because I enjoyed helping young people grow into young adults,” Bhoolai added, “and just watching you all over the four years of your high school career—even if we didn’t talk much—I watched every student on that campus and I see how they progress and I see what becomes important to them or who becomes important to them… it’s just a wonderful thing to see.”