Jayma Diaz would describe her first year as principal of Stratford High as a lot of things – difficult because of COVID, but also an incredible and rewarding experience on a professional level.
“I loved it – I love being a principal,” she said, adding, “Stratford is a great place.”
In particular, Diaz said the influence and impact one has as a leader trying to move a school forward is truly substantial.
As she enters her second year leading Stratford High, Diaz has one particular goal: to make her students’ high school experience the best four years of their lives.
She and her staff are working hard on focusing on the school culture, bringing back an element of fun and getting students involved. She enjoys doting on all the programs her school has to offer – whether it be athletics, academic clubs, fine arts, JROTC, culinary arts, media technology and more.
“We’re going to have fun this year,” she said.
Diaz has a Master’s Degree in administration from Charleston Southern University and also has an EDS from The Citadel. She is currently working on her doctorate in education improvement science from Clemson University.
Diaz is from Ohio originally and actually went to Ohio University to study marine biology. She was a gymnast her entire life, so while she was in college she got a job at a gymnastics center. A high school offered her a job as a tumbling coach, and Diaz ended up loving her role in working with high school students – she said the experience showed her she belonged in a high school.
Diaz made a “random” move to Charleston after college and got a job as a server downtown before landing a teaching job at Berkeley High as a science teacher 17 years ago. While at Berkeley High, she started the school’s competition cheer team. Seven years later, she came to Stratford High to serve as an assistant principal. Diaz was named BCSD Assistant Principal of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year.
Diaz said she feels having been a part of Stratford High for so long as an assistant principal has benefited her in the sense that it helped her transition into the role as principal. She was named interim principal last year, and was officially named principal back in March.
“I think moving forward, really honing in on recreating our school culture and having engaging lessons, engaging moments and bringing the fun back…hopefully it just helps connect every kid,” she said. “It’s all about building connections and building relationships at Stratford. That’s all we do.”
While COVID was difficult to tackle last year, Diaz said she learned a lot from her first year in the principal’s seat. She said one thing she would advise her past self is to remember to create the time for setting goals and to communicate them, while also remembering her “why” behind taking on the leadership role.
“I feel like leadership does create change and so, just as a first-year principal: don’t be in that stagnant mode,” she said, adding, “Setting the time to really lead your school is so important because, as a principal, you wear so many different hats. You' ve got to make sure that you’re taking time out to create that change that you want.”
Diaz said “engagement” is a buzz word for her, and she loves seeing engagement with students, teachers, parents and the community. This year, with hopes for more normalcy, Diaz said she would like to see the Stratford High football stadium packed during games. She wants to keep celebrating the school’s traditional accolades, like Knight of the Month, which focuses on teacher and student excellence.
The school exudes Knight Pride, and Diaz wants to show that Stratford High is very much a part of the community. Diaz said she hopes to keep building on those community relationships and business partners to better set her students up for success when they leave Stratford High.
“Everything we focus on is about building relationships,” she said. “There are so many community members that are former Knights who graduated from here – we have a huge alumni pool.”
Her favorite thing about Stratford High is self-explanatory: she loves that Knight Pride, and she wants every student and teacher to feel excited about coming to school.
“I devote and dedicate myself to making that happen and meeting their needs,” she said.
Monica Kreber
kreberm@bcsdschools.net
Original source can be found here.
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