New principal discusses aspirations and goals for her time at UAHS
By Grace Moody, ‘14
Greenwald: I can honestly say from a student perspective, I don’t think you guys are going to see too many changes. You have probably seen some of them already, just the morning announcements [and] I have a blog on the website. I’m a little more digitally savvy than maybe Mr. Greenhill was, and that’s kind of an ongoing joke that the two of us have. But from the student perspective, I don’t know that you guys will see tremendous changes. I think it’s going to be very similar to the way the building was operated before. What I think we will be working on is changes in how the teachers operate, just so that the building runsa little more effectively and efficiently, and so that we can focus a lot on student success and achievement.
Q: Do you plan to grant or take away any privileges from upperclassmen or the student body this school year?
Greenwald: I have no interest in taking away the privileges that [we have]. I like open lunch, I like open campus. I’ve been hearing rumors about me all summer long, about the ‘fact’ that I was closing lunch and closing open campus. I had those things when I was a student and I really liked them, so I think it’s something students should have too. I don’t plan to take those away, the only time we take those away is if a student is not in goodacademic standing.
Q: What are your biggest aspirations for UAHS during your years as principal?
Greenwald: Student success, student success, student success. High achievement [and] pushing us forward. One of the things that’s really hard when you are a top performing high school like UAHS is to maintain that top ranking.
Q: Seven teachers are joining the UAHS staff this year.What are your aspirations for the new faculty members?
Greenwald: I hope that they like it here, feel at home, and feel comfortable and really get [en]grained in the culture of what we do. But I also hope that they push us a little bit. We have some new teachers and some veteran teachers who came in, and I’m hoping they can give us some new ideas and help us look at things a little differently. I think part of what’s nice about employing newpeople is that they come in and they look at things and they go, ‘Ok, why are you doing that? Maybe you should try this.’ So it’s always nice to have fresh eyes on a new place.
Q: What was the first aspect of the high school that you wanted to change after former principal Kip Greenhill made his final farewell?
Greenwald: Morning announcements. One of the things I think we get criticized about the most here is the lack of information going out, of people not knowing what is going on. I don’t think you can communicate too much. I think families want to know what’s going on.
Q: How did your past time spent at Jonathon Alder High School, Worthington Kilbourne and Linworth Alternative School prepare you for your current position?
Greenwald: I think each of the different jobs thatI’ve had have been good because [I got] to see how other places operate. I think each of those places I’ve kind of taken with me. I don’t know if I could point to specific things, but I just think every experience anybody has helps shape who they are. I’ve been very lucky to have been at [the] places I’ve been.
Q: What is your favorite thing to see in the halls of UAHS?
Greenwald: Kids. I like talking to kids in the halls, I like talking to kids at games. I think that’s my favorite thing. There’s a lot of energy. I felt a lot of positive energy this year, the start of school was just great. I love music in the halls. I just have felt likewe had a great start to the school year,and I think people were really positive and upbeat and that’s nice to see.
Greenwald laughs with the head building secretary Jennifer Merryman in the office.
Greenwald talks with the women’s athletic director Jodi Palmer outside of Bear Essentials.