Starting next Monday, Spanish Resource teacher Rebecca Leef will take over as assistant principal in place of Kristin Cody while Cody is out on maternity leave.

Leef became interested in an administration job early on in her career, she said. After landing the role of resource teacher for the foreign language department and earning the necessary master’s degree, she began looking for a full-time administrative job. With Cody on maternity leave, Dr. Goodwin thought this could be a great stepping stone for Leef.

“She has her certification in administration and I wanted to give her a chance to exercise some of that leadership,” Goodwin said. “I think she’ll find that there are many more complicated dimensions to the job than people realize, but I think she can handle it.”

In addition to attending trainings, Leef has been shadowing administration members in between her teaching periods. While the transition has been difficult, Leef is excited to take on the new role.

“I pursued administration because I just loved working with kids and I wanted to be able to effect change and make a great environment for students, but also work with teachers,” Leef said. “I want to collaborate with them to create a better learning environment.”

Leef was supposed to receive another two weeks of training and planning for the job; however, after Cody left earlier than expected, Leef will fill the position for the rest of the year.

Leef’s job will mainly entail managing the Master Schedule, which involves creating and placing students into class sections. Once students register for 2016-2017 courses, it’s up to administration to determine class sizes, requests for the addition or removal of teachers and other similar issues. With the student population growing by 100 students next year, administration expects the process to be daunting, Goodwin said.

Nevertheless, Leef is excited for the challenge.

“It’s like a giant puzzle, and I think my brain works well with that,” Leef said. “I also have a lot of support here, so I won’t be alone.”

The school has found a long-term sub in Anna Maria Martin Romera to take Leef’s place in the Spanish department. Born in Spain, Romera is fluent in Spanish and has substituted in multiple Montgomery County schools.

The hardest part of the transition will be leaving the classroom, Leef said.

“It’s very bittersweet. Even though I’m only substituting for a short period, I feel like I am having to give up teaching which is really sad,” Leef said. “But I’m so excited for the opportunity and I feel so grateful. It’ll be a nice experiment to see if I can actually continue pursuing administration.”