Campus is excited to welcome Ms. Flynn as the newest member of the Edgemont School District community. Ms. Flynn started in her role as Assistant Principal for grades 7 through 9 in mid-December and since then has been deeply involved in the community, bringing 26 years of experience in education with her.
Ms. Flynn grew up in Long Island. She did not have a great childhood, and this experience motivated her to do better for not only herself, but for other children as well. Taking this personal experience with her, Flynn attended St. John’s University as an English major where she found much success in her classes.
Combining her love for helping children with her passion for pursuing an English degree, Flynn found herself going down the Education route at a very young age. The university she attended actually offered an internship program that placed Flynn as a student teacher at Elmont Memorial High School in Long Island. This high school was a part of the “most unique school district on Long Island,” as it was one of five separate high schools that were grades 7 through 12, just like Edgemont.
After graduation, on a visit to see the children she developed such close relationships with at Elmont, Flynn was offered a job on the spot to be the replacement for an English teacher on maternity leave. While the job offer was for only three months, Flynn ended up staying in that school district for 26 years. She later moved into an administrative role as English Chairperson at another high school in the same central school district. Very shortly after, Flynn became the Assistant Principal of that school.
After almost three decades of education at one school district, Flynn made the brave move switching to Edgemont. Three months into her time at Edgemont, Flynn shared that “it feels like I’ve been here for the 26 years I was there.” One reason why she was able to become so at home at Edgemont so quickly is credited truly to “the way Mr. Hosier and Ms. Joseph have brought [her] on to the team.” They not only embraced her socially but palpably valued her input.
Flynn has also made it a point to immerse herself with the seventh, eighth, and ninth graders. In the past month, she even held an assembly for the seventh graders. She expressed that “I formally introduced myself, going over the expectations of being a true Edgemont student, and letting them know what is expected of them.” She also recently finished going to every eighth grade social studies class, where she conveyed the importance “taking care of each other and being kind to one another”
In terms of her role as Assistant Principal, she is also responsible for creating the master schedule for the upcoming school year, as well as, improving security measures. Flynn shared that she is “excited, nervous, and anxious” about the first responsibility due to the complex nature of the block schedule, but she is thrilled to come in with a different lens. Especially with her many years of experience, she is aiming to improve the schedule by lessening conflicts. She concedes, however, that it is ultimately a “new process” for her.
In terms of security measures, Flynn recognized the nature of Edgemont’s open campus and believed that “we can always do better,” regarding safety. Some measures have already been implemented such as teachers wearing their IDs, the digitalization of the visitor sign-in, and simplifying the process for getting new IDs. In addition to that work, Flynn helped to streamline the course selection process.
In just three months, Flynn sees little differences and improvements already, particularly with the younger students that are gaining an increased awareness for not only safety measures but also for “treating each other kindly.”
When asked about what she wants students, parents, and teachers to know about her, Flynn shared that it is her “focus on each other.” While it may sound like a simple goal, our news Assistant Principal acknowledges that having a student body that pays attention to each other will surely constitute a challenge. Nevertheless, Ms. Flynn aims to “make everyone feel like they have home here.”