Amanda Garner-Maskill, Ph.D. is now the principal of Dr. Martha Mead Elementary in Northside Independent School district. Garner-Maskill graduated from UTSA with an M.Ed. in educational leadership in 2016 and a Ph.D. in educational leadership in 2020. The Pennsylvania native comes from a family of educators and says teaching has been a lifelong passion for her.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I was that little girl setting up my stuffed animals to teach,” she said. “My stepmom is a teacher, and some of my aunts on her side were teachers as well. My brothers are teachers, my sister is a teacher, so teaching and leading is really in our blood.”
Furthermore, growing up with family members with disabilities, Garner-Maskill has a particular love for special education.
“Working with people with disabilities really resonated with me. I saw some of those struggles and limitations that life put on my family members, and I really wanted to help students break some of those barriers and be able to make gains,” she said.
To that end, Garner-Maskill has spent the majority of her career in special ed, working for many years as a district behavior specialist. In this role, she supported sixteen campuses, working with children with disabilities such as autism and ADHD. And though she says she loved working in this role, supporting so many different schools meant she missed the connections gained by working out of one campus.
Plus, she says, “nobody calls the behavior specialist when kids are behaving, and I missed that balance.”
Around this time, a conversation with a mentor got Garner-Maskill thinking about an administrative position, which would center her at one campus while still occupying many of the same roles and using her skills. She was nominated for the UTSA/NISD cohort and began working on her M.Ed.
“I really felt like I got to learn administration, both clinically and hands-on,” Garner-Maskill said.
After finishing her M.Ed., Maskill decided to continue towards her Ph.D. This she completed at the UTSA Downtown Campus, a different experience from her master’s cohort, which was centered out of NISD.
“My experience there was being able to meet on campus, meet with lots of different people,” she said. “Also, the social justice piece was huge for me, it was a big learning curve for me and I would have to say that was the area I grew the most in as a human being and an educator.”
“Equity is one of my core values, and it’s helped me find my voice and my courage, to have some of those difficult conversations, and to really look at some of the processes and procedures that are in our schools and at how I can better serve my population, my students,” she said.
Garner-Maskill says her time at UTSA, and her program’s focus on social justice definitely prepared her to work at Dr. Martha Mead, a large, diverse school where 37 different languages are spoken.
“Equity is one of my core values, and it’s helped me find my voice and my courage, to have some of those difficult conversations, and to really look at some of the processes and procedures that are in our schools and at how I can better serve my population, my students,” she said.
Officially beginning her job on July 18, Garner-Maskill has spent the summer hiring and getting to know current staff. Although she says she’s loved meeting and talking to her staff, she can’t wait for kids to come back to school so she can meet them and their families. She says she’s already planning staff retreats, and fun family activities to welcome staff and students back to campus.
“My staff told me when they were meeting with me, they’re ready for more family nights, they’re ready for the kids and families to be here and for us to open our doors more,” she said.
While the workload and the fast-approaching school year in a new role might prove intimidating to some, Garner-Maskill feels confident.
“There’s going to be things I don’t know but I’ve got a good support system set up, I have a mentor, I have a coach, I have lots of friends that are in admin that I know I can rely on, so I’m not afraid or apprehensive of those things,” she said.
She recommends that teachers wanting to take on admin roles start by talking to their administrators, asking for more responsibilities, and asking questions.
“Look for opportunities on your campus now, ask questions of your admin to try and get the ‘why’ to some of those decisions, and be willing to open your perspective past just your classroom or your team,” she said.
“Look for opportunities on your campus now, ask questions of your admin to try and get the ‘why’ to some of those decisions, and be willing to open your perspective past just your classroom or your team,” she said.
From going back to school for her master’s degree – actually her second master’s in educational leadership – to persevering for her Ph.D., Garner-Maskill’s appointment as principal comes after a lengthy journey.
“Waiting is hard for me, but it’s absolutely worth the wait,” she said. “I’m so glad to be here at this campus; I think this is the exact perfect fit for me.”
- Christopher Reichert