{"id":966,"date":"2017-07-28T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=966"},"modified":"2017-07-25T18:52:29","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T22:52:29","slug":"amanda-hopkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=966","title":{"rendered":"Amanda Hopkins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leading in the Age of Technology\u00a0<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Jasmine Gomez | Photography by Mary Grace Photography<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

St. Margaret\u2019s School principal, Amanda Hopkins, once spent a chilly November day on the roof of the school reading a book. The almost seven hours she spent atop the building were an effort to encourage her students to read.<\/p>\n

Having led the school for almost four years, she\u2019s devoted to seeing her students and staff succeed by helping them in any way she can, even if that means reading a book while exposed to the late-fall elements.<\/p>\n

Before becoming principal, Amanda spent more than 11 years teaching inside the classroom. After graduating from The College of St. Rose in Albany with a dual degree in special and elementary education, Amanda spent several years in teaching positions, including several years as a pre-k teacher.<\/p>\n

Amanda was eventually asked to pursue a degree in administration, in order to take on a leadership role. But her love of the classroom and opportunity to work directly with children made her hesitant. She wasn\u2019t sure she wanted to leave her comfort zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I look at it as an opportunity to impact a whole school and to really help and support phenomenal teachers in reaching all students,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a very exciting process for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before starting her journey as principal, Amanda enrolled in Le Moyne College, eventually earning a master\u2019s degree in education and a certification in building leadership. She has a pending certification in district leadership.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, her time as a student at Le Moyne overlapped with her daughter\u2019s, who is now a senior at the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a semester where we were both going to classes. It was very competitive in a friendly nature,\u201d Amanda said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Her four years as principal at St. Margaret\u2019s School \u2014 which started with the school\u2019s 60th anniversary year \u2014 have been a rewarding opportunity to help students holistically, both academically and spiritually, she said. With about 200 students enrolled, the school is a relatively small institution belonging to the Diocese of Syracuse. Amanda said its size helps her and the rest of the staff cater to each child\u2019s individual needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really look at the child individually and say, \u2018OK, what is this child struggling with?\u2019\u201d she explained. \u201cWe have time to meet together \u2014 the teacher and myself \u2014 and say, \u2018This little guy or girl is struggling in this. How can we support them?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Amanda\u2019s leadership, St. Margaret\u2019s has been able to secure several grants to fund innovative projects at the school, many of which help the school integrate technology components into its curriculum.<\/p>\n

With the help of a $13,000 science grant, St. Margaret\u2019s has become the first elementary school in Central New York to have a dedicated science lab for its students, something Amanda said she would have appreciated when she was in elementary school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really pushes students to a deeper understanding of science content,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cSo it\u2019s been wonderful for our school. How fun \u2014 you put on a science jacket, you go into the science room [and] you do this wonderful experiment with your teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, the school won a $10,500 grant from the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation to resurface the school gym floor. The gym hosts parochial league teams, as well as a Saturday community basketball program.<\/p>\n

The school also offers a robotics program that aims to teach young students to code by learning how to program a robot. Children in fourth, fifth and sixth grades are also given Chromebooks to aid in the math curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur math program is completely integrated with technology,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cSo children can go on their Chromebook and review a lesson if they\u2019ve missed something, and understand it when they\u2019re doing homework.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Amanda may be the principal of St. Margaret\u2019s, she credits her team for the school\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a phenomenal team of teachers at St. Margaret\u2019s who go above and beyond to always continue their own learning, so that they impact students in a positive way,\u201d Amanda said. \u201cIt\u2019s really a beautiful gift that they give to our student body.\u201d SWM <\/em><\/p>\n

For more information on St. Margaret\u2019s School, visit stmargaretschoolny.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leading in the Age of Technology\u00a0 By Jasmine Gomez | Photography by Mary Grace Photography\u00a0 St. Margaret\u2019s School principal, Amanda Hopkins, once spent a chilly November day on the roof of the school reading a book. The almost seven hours she spent atop the building were an effort to encourage her students to read. Having…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[317,293,315,160,316,262],"class_list":["post-966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-amanda-hopkins","tag-august-2017","tag-jasmine-gomez","tag-mary-grace-johnson","tag-st-margarets-school","tag-syracuse-woman-magazine"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AmandaStMargarets-3-ONLINE-2.jpg?fit=5200%2C3453&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":614,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=614","url_meta":{"origin":966,"position":0},"title":"Amanda Funk","author":"Staff","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Running a Funky One-Woman Show By Kathryn Walsh | Photography by Alice G. 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