As construction crews put the finishing touches on the new buildings, and the town cleans up the mess Hurricane Irene left behind, Allyson Mizoguchi looks forward to getting back into the routine of being the Assistant Principal at Wayland High School after a two year leave.
“I am, first and foremost, extremely excited to be back,” said Mizoguchi. “I’ve missed [my colleagues], and I’ve missed thinking about schools and thinking about teaching and learning. It’s also a little daunting because it is going to be such a full year of change with moving into the new building.”
Mizoguchi started her career at Wayland High School right after graduate school, working as a teacher in the English department for six years. After being persuaded by some of her friends, Mizoguchi decided to switch to Brookline High School, where she taught for a year. Mizoguchi then returned to WHS as the Vice Principal, where she stayed for six years before taking a two year leave.
About five years ago, Mizoguchi took a 12 week maternity leave when she was expecting her first child, Kyra. At that time, Mizoguchi’s husband took a one year leave from his work to stay with their new daughter.
“Like a lot of parents, I felt like I had missed out on a lot of things with her,” said Mizoguchi.
That’s why, when Mizoguchi was expecting her second baby, Louis, two years ago, she asked for a one year maternity leave.
“About half way through that first year, I decided that I wasn’t going to be happy unless I had a second year of leave,” said Mizoguchi.
Now, Mizoguchi is ready to come back to school, joining Wayland High School for its move to the new buildings.
One of Mizoguchi’s concerns is that she isn’t familiar with the student body at the high school. During Mizoguchi’s last year at WHS, the Class of 2012 were freshmen, while the other three grades were in middle school.
Although Mizoguchi has been talking with guidance counselors and other colleagues about ways to get to know the students better, she said, “It’s kind of starting from scratch for me.”
During her last year here, Mizoguchi taught a sophomore English class. In other years as Assistant Principal, Mizoguchi co-taught a Shakespeare elective with Richard Weingartner, WHS’s theater instructor. Mizoguchi said that these teaching experiences helped her develop a closer relationship with the students.
“I’m not [teaching] this year, so one of my goals is to get to know kids outside of the main office,” said Mizoguchi. “And I think that has got to happen by really getting into classrooms, getting to know their lives, reaching out, being in the Commons, being visible, introducing myself to a lot of people. Because once I know the students, everything kind of falls into place.”
Mizoguchi has a message for students about moving into the new school.
“Think about what the best of us is and to really let that flourish and leave behind the things that probably need to be left behind. It’s really an incredible opportunity for us to sort of reinvent ourselves in some ways.”
Mizoguchi sees great potential for this next year at Wayland High School, and when asked to describe the school in one word, she used the word “dynamic.”
“I just feel there’s a buzz. And I think it’s more than the buzz of construction going on, it’s the buzz of change about to happen. School is about to start tomorrow. It’s going to be a huge — just a huge — year. So I feel there’s a sense of dynamism in the air.”
