Along with the addition of Tom Taylor to Paideia, the roles of High School Principal and Assistant High School Principal have had revisions as well. Stacey Winston and Miranda Knowles have stepped into their respective new positions as interim Principal and Assistant Principal, though Knowles notes that “Even though we have a lot of newness, we’re just new in our roles,” as both herself and Winston have lengthy histories with the school. Knowles, who attended Paideia as a student, is going into her 11th year of teaching, and Winston also has a long Paideia history, including work in administration.
Transitioning into her new position “Didn’t really feel like a choice at the time,” says Winston, as the other option was to train someone else to be her boss.
For Knowles, her priorities concern coaching Paideia’s Varsity Girls’ Ultimate team because “That’s sort of a no-fly zone, I’m going to coach,” Knowles says, but she also thinks it would be “A way to help the school in a time of need and transition and change.”
Winston is also prioritizing her sport, volleyball, and this will be her first year not teaching a class because “something had to give… and I kept volleyball,” she said with a laugh.
Considering the many leadership changes in the school, it’s reasonable to question what the future of Paideia will look like. Knowles acknowledges that Tom Taylor, new Head of School, asked, “What do you think should never change about Paideia?” For Knowles, that constant is Short Term in high school.
This is not to say that everything will remain as it has, and some systems have already begun to alter slightly. Study Hall, which used to be a “free for all” according to Knowles, has been limited to students staying in the library or commons for safety purposes. “There will be things that will be protected, even if they’re weird or non-traditional, and there are things that don’t fall under that and will change and that’ll be good,” says Knowles.
