Change is abundant at Wakeland this year, with new furniture, teachers, students, and a new associate principal, Mrs. Addo. Mrs. Addo was born and raised in the Caribbean island of Dominica before being recruited to attend Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, where she studied chemistry. Her career as an educator began at Woodrow Wilson in Dallas, where she taught for two years before teaching in Frisco ISD. She has been an educator in Frisco ISD since 2009, teaching advanced and on-level chemistry at Heritage High School for eight years and as an assistant principal at Liberty High School for five years. With this year being her first year as an associate principal, her job is a little different than before.

“It’s a different capacity [because] I don’t have an alpha of students that I am responsible for, so I am primarily working with teachers,” Mrs. Addo said. “It’s more of a [larger] perspective, and [it involves] really looking at the learning that’s going on in the campus.”

Mrs. Addo’s ability to adapt to the new role has made an impression on Wakeland’s principal, Dr. Edge.

“[When] doing the master schedule, which was new for her, she worked really closely with Mrs. Henderson, who was our last associate,” Dr. Edge said. “She’s fit right in, and [the adjustment] has seemed pretty easy for her.”

Mrs. Addo has already noticed a characteristic of Wakeland that makes the school unique.

“We did not [have] power lunch at Liberty…I’ve walked the building during power lunch, and I see kids talking, playing, [and] in the halls sitting. It works here because of the culture, and it works because of the teachers [and] the types of students we have,” Mrs. Addo said.

As a part of Wakeland, Mrs. Addo is focused on enhancing Wakeland’s culture and preparing students for the future.

“My primary focus is to make sure that we, as the staff, are helping facilitate the learning and facilitate the journey of making sure that when students leave Wakeland, they leave here as global citizens that [are] responsible [and] have empathy,” Mrs. Addo said.