When we first stepped into Ms. Scollins’ office, she was on the phone with a colleague, laughing and chatting brightly. This was our first time meeting, but we instantly felt her friendly and welcoming presence as she invited us in and pulled chairs up to her desk for us. 

At first, our interview was like any other: we asked questions and she responded. However, our interview became increasingly conversational as we got to know each other better. She made us feel as if we were her peers, a feeling unusual to students when speaking with an administrator. Her ability to create such a warm atmosphere, even in a professional setting, left a lasting impression on us.

Ms. Scollins is Hen Hud’s new principal, superseding Mr. Giovanazzi for the 2023-2024 school year. She served as the principal of Blue Mountain Middle School last year and assistant principal of Croton Middle School for 4 years before—2023 marks Ms. Scollins’ sixth year in public school administration.

“I knew I wanted to go into education since I was in ninth or tenth grade. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, it was always my goal,” explained Ms. Scollins in the beginning of our interview.

After graduating from Croton Harmon High School,  Ms. Scollins attended The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. Her dream of becoming a teacher drove her to graduate a semester early with a bachelor’s degree in childhood education with a concentration in American studies. She went on to pursue a master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching.

While obtaining her undergraduate degree, Ms. Scollins studied abroad at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute in Florence, Italy. Her classes covered the history of Italian gardens and renaissance art, which furthered her personal interests as well as her desire to teach.

After college, Ms. Scollins earned a position teaching second grade in the Croton-Harmon School District. After several years, she switched to sixth grade at Croton Middle School where she taught math and science.

Ms. Scollins earned several leadership roles during her tenure at Croton such as Team Leader and Science Curriculum Coordinator. While in these roles, her colleagues enjoyed her practical and effective leadership style and encouraged her to pursue leadership. “I had a principal, who was one of my former teachers…she kept pushing me to take on different roles. She said she saw all this potential in me.” explained Ms. Scollins

Ms. Scollins took the advice and pursued the National Board Certification, the most respected professional certification available in education. This certification enabled her to teach at schools anywhere in the country. Scollins then went on to receive her administrative certificate through a 36-credit program at Manhattanville College. With these strong credentials in hand, Ms. Scollins was offered the position of assistant principal at Croton Middle School. 

While serving as assistant principal at Croton, Ms. Scollins bonded with her community and school life. She focused on strong student to teacher and student to student connections. “As Assistant Principal in Croton I had a book club; I had a group of ten kids and we just picked books and every month we read books,” mentioned Ms. Scollins as part of her efforts to get involved with students.

During her time at Croton Middle School, Ms. Scollins enrolled in an online doctoral program at Fordham University, an endeavor she continues to work towards today. Scollins stated, “I want to change schools in a different way and I want to influence schools in a different way … My dissertation topic is around building culture, looking at how to improve the school building through culture and community building.”

For the 2022 -2023, Ms Scollins earned the position of Principal at Blue Mountain Middle School following the retirement of the former principal, Mr. Owens. 

An advocate for student involvement in the community and their social success, Ms. Scollins has crafted many of her policies and procedures at the middle and high school around these beliefs. She feels that students come before all else, noting that “making a conscious effort to stay involved with the kids is important.” Her new policies for achieving these goals involve limiting cell phone usage as well as academic advantages. “Kids these days have a digital pacifier that they carry around … Some people are really addicted to their phones and really distracted by who’s sending what, who’s posting what,” remarked Scollins. She wants teachers to limit cell phone usage in the classroom, explaining how “when we remove that pacifier, people are more engaged and excited to learn.”

Another policy that hopes to gear Hen Hud into a safer, more learning-focused environment is the creation of study halls in place of Academic Advantages. “It’s really a safety piece,” said Ms. Scollins. “Having the students wander around without being held accountable, where you don’t know where people are…that’s where they can run into problems.” 

One of Ms. Scollins’ biggest initiatives for Hen Hud is increased student participation in school decisions. She is currently planning “for some students to be involved in a scheduling committee, and really examine our course offerings, how we schedule, and the times we schedule,” hoping this will help to do away with study halls and free periods entirely.  In order to bring new courses to Hen Hud, Ms. Scollins recognizes that there must be more student input. She added that “in the long run, the hope… is that we can really evaluate our course offerings.”  

Scollins has already held one town hall meeting to answer the questions of freshmen and sophomores. Surveys were sent out before the meeting, giving the administration an idea of questions that would be asked and time to prepare. The town hall was a presentation on this feedback, as well as a video on the role of “upstanders” in a school environment. A second survey was sent out to conclude the meeting, asking students’ opinions on the event.

By the end of the year, Ms. Scollins hopes to create a new kind of environment at Hen Hud, where every student feels comfortable and excited to learn. Hen Hud has experienced a tumultuous couple of years between the pandemic and several leadership changes; Ms. Scollins is a breath of fresh air, spearheading a new era for our school.

“We rise by lifting others. I want to be there for the students and teachers, and I need them to be there for me too.” She wants students and staff to know that her door is always open for anything.