Godfrey-Lee — Peggy McCormick is not new to the district, having taught at Lee Middle School for 18 years, but her new position is.
As the middle school’s first dean of students, her main responsibility is to oversee the multi-tiered systems of support – social, emotional and behavioral – and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports programs.
McCormick said she values having been a teacher at the middle school for so long before transitioning into her new role.
“Behavior management has always been a strong part of my classroom and I’m working to put those skills into the position,” she said. “I have experience with how processes and programs run in the school and it’s invaluable to already have experience with the kids.”
Before the district created the position, McCormick said there was a team of staff supporting social, emotional and behavioral learning, but there wasn’t anyone to oversee the implementation of MTSS.
“Without a dean, the principal was handling a lot of the tier two and three interventions,” she said. “Now I help free up time for our principal a bit more, while helping with new behavior initiatives and supporting the growth of our staff and students.”
To start off her days, McCormick monitors the middle school hallways and spends time in the sixth-grade building.
She said her short-term goals for the sixth-graders coming up from elementary school is to help in their transition, as they are “little fish in the big pond.”
McCormick added: “My goal is to help students become leaders in this building, see a path forward, identify obstacles in the way and address academic or behavioral issues early.”
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