Voice: As your time in the position of interim principal is almost over, where do you plan to go from here, after Paly?

Sandra Pearson: I don’t have any set plans yet. I will definitely be involved in the district still until at least November, and will probably be spending a lot of time here over the summer at Paly, actually helping the new principal. But I will be involved. I’ll be around. My husband and I, we have two big trips planned for next year, one to Burma in November and one to Australia and New Guinea in January. And then a seven-continent jet tour for three weeks planned. So actually there are three big trips. In terms of my involvement in education, I’m not quite sure what I will do, but I know that I’ll certainly stay involved. It’s too hard to break all ties here.

At that time [when I came back] I had intended to write a book [about education] based on my experiences, but then I got so caught up in work, and traveling, and grandchildren that I never wrote the book. And now I don’t intend to. But I might start doing some writing of some shorter pieces, just to help show what matters most about how you influence culture and influence student voices … there are a lot of different topics that I think are really important. I don’t have a framework or I don’t have a set plan.

V: Do you have any regrets leaving Paly?

SP: Oh sure, oh sure. You know, there’s just something that’s very invigorating about being around teenagers and there’s also something very exciting about being part of a team. I love the aspect of being able to work with a variety of people … It’s such a great job and it has so many different facets. And for me it’s just very, I feel very alive and constantly challenged, and I feel that when I go into retirement, it’s not the same compelling atmosphere and there’s a very different pace. The thing that I’m saddest about in this principal-ship is that I feel that I don’t know nearly as many students … it’s always been the student connection that I feel has been really important. I don’t know, I feel connected, but I don’t feel that I know individuals. Of course, through some of the issues I have come to know some people very well (laughs), but it [work] has taken away from being able to get to know a lot of students. I admit that I regret it. I also regret that I have not been to nearly as many extracurricular activities … In the old routine I would really try to make at least, of home meets or games, at least two for every sport.

V: Would you ever consider coming back to take more time as an administrator or as principal?

SP: Oh, I joked with the staff and I said ‘be prepared to see me in another 10 years, I’ll come in my walker!’ I don’t think it’s probably very realistic that I would, but it would have to be on a short-term basis if I were needed, but I … it’s not all that realistic. I realize that the older that I get that I don’t quite have the same energy that I had 20 years ago. And I think it’s always important to have new blood, and new ideas coming in…And you know, it’s fine to come in on a temporary basis, but I feel good about what we’ve been able to accomplish in the last two years … You know, I think it would only be for a short term if I were to come back.

V: What is one thing you’d like to see Mr. Laurence do as principal?

SP: That’s a very good question … I would hope that he would be able to take the key issues, like the ones from our WASC evaluations, take the key issues and follow up and address those. I think we are off to a very good start in addressing those, but it is a complex issue with many facets. We have made significant changes, but we have not begun to address the grading issue, and that’s on our plans for next year. By grading issue I mean does an "A" in world history from all teachers mean the same thing, is what you do for a B different than a C … there are similar issues around what should be on homework as there are around tests … Another big topic has to do with our students who have different kinds of intelligence, differentiated instruction, and that’s one that’s very high on the list. Also, bringing balance to students’ lives. How do we help students manage time better, reduce their stress in different ways…
Talking about things that we’ve started that I’d really like to see continued, one thing is addressing issues around better understanding of one another, particularly around race. Paly is pretty tolerant, but it’s not perfect. We’re still not totally there. There are still issues of race. That’s a high priority I think for Mr. Laurence, so I’m not worried about that.

V: What advice or final thoughts would you like to leave the students of Paly?

SP: I hope that students are able to find balance in their lives. I hope that when grads leave, they leave feeling that high school was a great experience … I hear from these studies and surveys we’ve done, more and more kids are saying ‘I’m just getting through. I’m just trying to get through so I can get to college and then everything will be fine.’ And that saddens me, that there’s any talk of that. A couple of generations ago, there was this myth that high school was the best time of your life. And in fact, when, for years we had a student activities director, I came in ’84, she’d show a film at freshman orientation and it was always ‘The Best Years of Your Life.’ And I think that we lived with that myth — and I hope it’s not a myth I would like to have it be reality — that these are wonderful years to discover who you are, to be able to really be excited about what you’re learning, to be able to go out for sports that you thought that maybe you could never do, or try out for plays … just be able to try things and kind of discover where your talents are and to leave with a sense of wholeness. That’s my wish for people. And I hope I’m not alone, and I hope it’s for more people than I currently think it is.

I also hope that when the graduates of Paly leave, they leave proud. And that they realize what phenomenal teachers they have here and that they stay in touch. Staying in touch — it means so much to teachers when students come back … I know my husband and I, I go back to every high school reunion, you know. And we’ve come so far from Wisconsin and I mean this is just like a whole different life. But it’s really wonderful to have those connections still, too … there’s something about these formative years … so many growing experiences that are really wonderful and it’s great to be able to stay in touch around them.