Grades 3-8 Principal
B.A., Potsdam College
M.F.A., Illinois State University
M.A., State University of New York
Q&A
What does Morgan Park Academy mean to you? Why have you made it a key part of your life?
I’ve been at MPA for more than 20 years. And what made me fall in love with this school is the same thing that keeps me here year after year. This is truly a community of people who care about one another and who work together towards a common goal. All of us want school to be a safe and comfortable place to learn and to grow.
My husband jokes about how often I wear MPA spirit wear when I’m at home and “off duty,” but it’s because I am immensely proud of who we are and how we operate.
Recently, I was talking with a parent of a young student about some social-emotional concerns. I shared that I love the opportunity to help navigate these things, because they are tough to go through. Creating and maintaining friendships is hard, and can become the entire focus of a kiddo’s school day, whether they are 3 or 13.
I shared that my middle school years were the toughest for me, and that I wouldn’t repeat those years again if given the chance. The parent replied that she would gladly go back to being a student — if only she could do it at MPA. That tells me we are doing something right.
What core elements of our program are most important?
I maintain that character education is the most important part of our program. I have great pride in our academic rigor, but academics without addressing social-emotional learning doesn’t truly prepare students for their adult lives. No matter what field our students select, no matter what they choose to study, they will need to be able to work with all kinds of people, to work hard, to maintain a work-life balance, and to feel fulfilled at the end of the day. If our students can live based on the MPA Way — “Be Kind and Do Your Best” — then I have great hope for our future!
What experiences or people had the most influence on you?
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with the best in the business at MPA. I feel like every day is a professional development experience for me.
I spent 15 years watching what Tom Malcolm did as a Middle School teacher, and how he made students feel. He never missed an opportunity to let students know that he is proud of them.
Peggy Scolan taught me that you can always try to be and do better; I never met anyone who was more interested in learning from her own mistakes and growing from them.
For more than 20 years, I’ve worked with Tom Drahozal, who models firmness and fairness, tempered with showing students that he wants to know who they are — and he cares about them.
From Shelia Webster-Gray, I’ve learned that quiet is incredibly powerful, and that modeling respect for your students is the best way to create a respectful environment. From Sue Oczkowski, I learned that it’s not that I can’t do something — just that I can’t do it yet. From Harriet Arnold, I’ve learned that honesty really is the best policy, and that anything can grow with enough love. From Sandra Burgess, I’ve learned that hard work can be super fun.
What does it mean to you to stay in touch with alumni after MPA?
For me, the sheer joy of social media is that I am able to stay connected with so many alumni. If they were MPA “lifers,” I already got to work with them for an extended period of time and watch them grow. My pride always leaks out of my eyes a little at Commencement.
By staying in touch, I get snapshots (sometimes literal ones) of their proud moments. From afar, I get to celebrate their weddings, their business ventures, their children, their travels and accomplishments.
Recently, one of my former Middle School students tagged me in a post about school administrators taking cheesy pictures on class trips — and I was able to comment with several years’ worth of examples!
What do you want students to take away from having known you?
When I started at MPA, I taught drama classes in Middle School and Upper School. At the top of each semester’s syllabus, I had two quotes: Oscar Wilde’s “Be who you are, everyone else is already taken” and Samuel Beckett’s “Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
Outside my office now I have a poster with a favorite quote from Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”
I am forever happy when a student can take away at least one of those ideas: Be yourself, be willing to try and fail, and do your best to make other people better for having known you.