With a brand new name and a brand new building, the students of Holbrook Middle-High School have seen numerous changes in the past year. Among these changes was the retirement of the former Principal, Dr. MaryAnn DeMello last spring. This year, Mrs. Laura Stevenson, previously an assistant principal, has taken on the position of interim principal. She has worked in education for over twenty years, originally coming to Holbrook as the STEAM coordinator.

Before her time in Holbrook, Mrs. Stevenson worked for Weymouth Public Schools as the director of technology for the district. Over the past two decades, she has also worked as a teacher, dean, principal, and technology specialist. According to an interview with Jonathan Lounge, she had her first job when she was fifteen, as a cashier at Tedeschi’s.

Mrs. Stevenson is very excited about the new PreK-12 facility. She thinks that it ”gives Holbrook the unique perspective of being able to see everything educationally from the time our students come to school until they graduate and head of to college.” Mrs. Stevenson is particularly interested in helping both students and staff use the new technology. Because every student has their own Chromebook, they have “access to the globe at their fingertips.”

While Mrs. Stevenson says that “it’s been awhile since [she’s] been in the principal seat,” she’s certainly ready to take on the job. When it comes to discipline, she thinks it’s important to have more conversations about why students make the decisions that they do. She says that, when she was younger, no one would have cared why something happened, just that they didn’t do it again. In Mrs. Stevenson’s opinion, “It’s all about going to school and learning, and you can’t learn without making mistakes every now and then.”

To see the full interview, click here. The segment starts at 8:53.