Brooklyn Park Council meets prospective principal for arts-focused school
The Brooklyn Park City Council held a meeting on August 12 to meet with Aena, a candidate for principal of Birch Grove School for the Arts. The interview focused on her vision for integrating arts into the school's curriculum and her philosophy on student-centered education.
Aena presented her educational philosophy and plans for Birch Grove School for the Arts during the council meeting. She emphasized her deep commitment to the arts and explained how she believes artistic expression enhances student learning across all subjects.
Aena brings substantial leadership experience to the position. She previously served as principal at Crestview Elementary and as an assistant principal at Oakview. Throughout her career, she has maintained a student-centric approach, emphasizing the importance of recognizing children's intelligence and creating joyful, intellectually stimulating learning environments.
For Birch Grove, Aena outlined specific plans to strengthen the school's arts focus. She intends to integrate fine arts more deeply into the curriculum and plans to launch a gardening club, which she views as both an artistic and community-building initiative. She also expressed personal interests in gardening and spending time with her grandchildren, suggesting she brings hands-on experience to such projects.
Aena stressed the importance of community connection, noting her desire to live and work in the neighborhood where Birch Grove is located. She expressed enthusiasm about engaging with students, teachers, and staff to ensure a successful school year ahead. No votes were recorded during this meeting, which appeared to be an informational session introducing the candidate to council members and the community.
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Source document
[0:11] Why did you want to be a principal? The
[0:15] principal of Birch Grove Schools for the
[0:18] arts?
[0:19] Great question. I absolutely love the
[0:22] arts. So theater,
[0:25] visual arts, gardening, any way that we
[0:28] can express ourselves artistically, I
[0:30] really believe that helps learning. So
[0:33] the fine arts part is near and dear to
[0:36] my heart and I love that. And the
[0:39] school's like right down the street from
[0:41] my house, so I feel like I get to live
[0:43] in the community that I serve.
[0:47] Have you been a principal before?
[0:49] I have. I was principal at Crestview
[0:52] Elementary and prior to that I was
[0:54] assistant principal at Oakview.
[0:59] What do you like the best about working
[1:03] in a school?
[1:05] Kids,
[1:08] students, scholars. I love children. I
[1:12] think they're the smartest people in the
[1:14] entire building. They know way more than
[1:17] me and they make me laugh. So every day
[1:19] I get to come to school in a work
[1:22] environment that is joyous and just
[1:25] seeing all like the brain and everything
[1:28] just grow grow grow and I really feel
[1:30] like I'm contributing to the world when
[1:32] I do that.
[1:34] What do you like to do when you're not
[1:36] at work?
[1:36] M I love to garden. I am a huge gardener
[1:41] and so getting my hands in the soil. I
[1:43] have house plants, outside plants. I'm
[1:46] going to bring a lot of plants here. I
[1:48] want to start a gardening club cuz
[1:50] that's art, too. And that's the way I
[1:52] express myself artistically. Um, and I
[1:55] love to spend time with my
[1:56] grandchildren.
[1:57] What's a fun fact about you?
[2:01] Uh,
[2:02] well,
[2:04] I have never been camping.
[2:08] I've never slept in a tent. I've never
[2:11] like went out and stayed overnight
[2:14] outside. What's your favorite school
[2:17] lunch?
[2:18] I love school lunch. I eat it every day.
[2:20] I eat school breakfast, too. But I
[2:22] really like the um chicken alfredo with
[2:25] the garlic bread and when they serve it
[2:27] with either the green beans or the
[2:29] broccoli.
[2:31] Anything else you'd like to share with
[2:34] us? Um, I'm so excited to be here and
[2:37] get started and like now I already have
[2:40] got a chance to meet you and I can't
[2:43] wait to meet all the students and the
[2:44] teachers and the staff and it's going to
[2:46] be an amazing school year.
[2:50] Thank you for coming. My My name is
[2:53] Aena.
[2:54] My name is
[2:56] Thank you for interviewing me.
[2:58] You're welcome.
[3:00] You're welcome.
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Other Topics from This Document
Principal's Professional Background and Approach to Education
Community Connection and Personal Engagement
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