In December I sat down with Principal Cavanaugh to reflect on her first few months as principal of Oliver Ames. And, if I had to use one word to describe what her vision seems to be for Oliver Ames, it is “inclusion”. She also seems very open to hearing students opinions and really wants to engage in conversations with the community.
Stepping into a role this big after having someone who had previously filled that role for two decades can be intimidating. Obviously she had some expectations leading up to this year and she says that her “expectations matched [her] reality even more so”. She said that her “expectations were to come in and listen: to students, parents, faculty members; and really get an understanding of who we are as a community” and that she “was not sure of the level of welcoming [she] would get from the school and it was above expectations. Everyone was super open to talking to [her] and sharing their stories with [her].” She feels that it was a “wonderful transition into the role” and wants to say that she “feel[s] really grateful that [she] got to spend so much time in [her] first six months in this role [making] connect[ions].”
Throughout every answer, Mrs. Cavanaugh seemed to be concerned about and mindful of inclusion for every member of the community, no matter their race, gender, sexuality, interests, etc. She says, “we need to have more conversations about racial inequities, and stereotyping based on gender and religion, race, cultural backgrounds.”
The new principal thinks it is incredibly important for students who are minorities to feel included by their school through acceptance from their peers, but also by seeing people who look like them in the curriculum. “We need to really have a firm understanding of the fact that we need to create an environment where there are windows and mirrors where people can see themselves in curriculums, and see themselves in the work that we do, and can also learn about each other, to be hearing each others stories and understanding the history that impacts the way our society is today and especially impacts our marginalized communities.”
When thinking about school spirit days she saw a lot of joy and camaraderie but also wanted to make sure that there was a difference between including others and allowing others to feel like a part of the community. “You can include people, but that doesn’t mean that they feel that they belong” says the new principal. She thinks that when we have spirit days “there are often populations in our school that don’t feel included so that’s some room for improvement”. She poses the question, “how do we become a more inclusive environment, so that when we structure things like school spirit weeks, everybody feels like there’s a space where they belong in that place.”
In the first part of the year, Mrs. Cavanaugh got to see the school’s off-the-charts spirit through many events and activities. “I admire the commitment as a community to school pride, school spirit, and making sure that we have different clubs and activities and things for students to find a space to connect with others who have similar interests” she says.
“Its hard to put into words how you feel when a group of students in your school are so severely impacted by the choice of their peers. I think that I felt a need to act and a need to connect.”
Mrs. Cavanaugh
After witnessing the first few pep rallies and seeing the participation in Spirit Week Mrs. Cavanaugh states that “OA in general had really great school spirit during the spirit week and I can just see how much we value the times where we come together as a community to do fun things and celebrate each other.” Overall, she sees “how much this community values education and how much this building values the community.” And while she thinks OA’s Spirit events are good as they are, she still “want[s] to hear from the students about what they’re looking for and how they can celebrate each other and the school.”
It’s always hard to step into a new role l that has so many people watching you, but add a year and a half of a pandemic and you have an incredibly tough job. “It was hard to come back to school in full after a somewhat chaotic and unpredictable year and half we’ve had and I think that the faculty and students came into the building wanting to make connections again.” Yet it was still very rewarding for the new principal to see all of the students smiling faces fully back in person. “The first day of school was great. You’re in the school all summer long and there’s no students. And all of a sudden there’s 1117 students walking in that door…that was a great feeling for me” says Mrs. Cavanaugh.
One thing that Mrs. Cavanaugh probably was not expecting during the first few months of her new role was a hate crime that targeted a minority group in the school. In October, a Swastika was found on a poster in one of the boy’s bathrooms. The school immediately notified every student and their families and stated that they were looking into it. Mrs. Cavanaugh says that she “felt the urge to act and to make sure that our jewish population in school felt heard.”
It was definitely not an issue that a principal would expect to come across when starting at a new school. and it can be hard to know what to do when you want to take action but have never dealt with something of this scope before. But it was an incident that will stick with her for the rest of her career. “Its hard to put into words how you feel when a group of students in your school are so severely impacted by the choice of their peers. I think that I felt a need to act and a need to connect.”
Yet Mrs. Cavanaugh wanted to make sure she heard the voices of everyone who had something to say. She said she met with about 25 students to hear their thoughts on the incident. But she learned that “our students and our faculty are willing to have those conversations.” After having these discussions with students, she said she learned that “we as a community need to take a look at creating an understanding of the impact of words and symbols.” She believes that part of the problem is the information we see on the internet. “I think that sometimes on social media or in the news you see language that is really based in hate, but its almost normalized because it’s seen so frequently. We as a school need to work on understanding that it’s not acceptable, its not tolerated in this school. And there are words that can be so triggering to students that it impacts their ability to learn.” She continues by saying that “there are words and symbols that have no place in our society and definitely have no place in our school.” But she remains positive by saying, “I know that we’re going to work as a community in the future to educate and address that and find ways to create a culture that is inclusive.”
Although there have been some hardships in the first few months of the job alone, she remains positive and hopeful. “I’ve learned so much about what makes this community special and I still have a lot to learn.” Mrs. Cavanaugh stresses the “importance of trust and relationships as a leader, which is something I am working on every day.”