By Stefan Yablonski
Amanda Petrie’s grandmother “my beloved ‘Mimi’” had three children and simultaneously earned a master’s degree in English and then later became assistant superintendent in Livonia, Michigan. She created a strong literacy program there.
“At her funeral, so many people came out to say the tremendous impact she had on their lives,” Petrie said. “That inspired me to pursue a career in education. I wanted to create the same impact; I feel I am getting that opportunity as the principal of P-TECH. Prior to being the principal, I taught social studies for 14 years and then became an instructional coach. I’ve been the P-TECH principal for three years.”
Her father’s side of the family are all entrepreneurs and business owners in the automotive or racing industry.
“This led me to understand leadership, being innovative and building a brand,” she said. “I also understand the customer service side and the need to foster strong relationships. On my mother’s side, my grandparents were both teachers and then administrators.”
Challenges
“The biggest challenges I have faced in education is to rethink our approach to education,” she said. “I remember being a social studies teacher and cell phones and the internet took over around 2013.”
She said she quickly learned that her “giving” of facts about history could quickly be replaced by an internet search or YouTube video.
“A colleague of mine and I began to explore project-based learning and inquiry to teach more wholistic educational skills. The goal was to teach social studies content but focus more on reading, writing and creative outlets for students to create projects,” she explained.
One of her favorite projects was when students had to research the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte through primary and secondary sources. However, their task was to create an action figure demonstrating him as a hero or villain. The clothing, marketing, accessories, what was on the box all had to represent their viewpoint.
“My own children then reviewed the action figures and chose which ones they were most likely to buy at a toy store,” she said. “Our staff at P-TECH are now trained in project-based learning and approach education to enhance more of the soft skills that students need, complex thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, time management, etc.”
Leading a blended district is definitely different, she said.
“Additionally, my work means coordinating more than a dozen industry partners, our college and our home district families and communities,” she said. “I’ve worked with government agencies and wrap-around services in Oswego County to ensure our students get adequate transportation and opportunities. That requires a higher level of coordination, communication and relationship-building. My role requires me to be consistently looking outward at our community but also inward and ensuring that our curriculum and courses are being taught at the highest standard. My goal is to get all of these groups to share the same vision of student success.”
At the same time, that complexity creates opportunity, she added.
“A blended model allows us to be more innovative, to leverage resources across the county and with different entities and to create programs that might not be possible in a single setting,” she said. “It pushes us to think differently about scheduling, instruction and student pathways.”
Read about more Women in Education:
• Rhonda Zajac: Women’s Role in Education Shifts to Leading
• Agatha Awuah: Educator is considered the architect behind OCC’s culture of evidence-based decision-making
• Sarah Gaffney: A product of the SUNY system, she has overseen a steady growth in enrollment at OCC
• Erica Hall: Program director is involved in developing curriculum, enrollment, community awareness and forming partnerships
• Jennifer King-Reese: Educator is proud of fostering greater communication among the district’s schools and employees
• Linda LeMura: She became a trailblazer in 2014 as the first lay female president of a Jesuit college in the U.S.
• Jennifer Nichols: From student to dean, administrator is settling into new position
• Kirsten Nielsen: As the founder of the physical therapist assistant program, she now serves as both its director and an instructor
• Lindi Quackenbush: Her father once observed she had more degrees than a thermometer
• Jennifer L. Ross: Interim dean was once told that she couldn’t do advanced math because she was a girl
• Donna Runner: Her mother’s commitment to education spurred superintendent’s success
• Naomi Ryfun: A love of teaching: A journey from biochemistry to education
