On Jan. 23, a message was sent out to the school community via Remind detailing an administration change. The letter came from Greg Mullenholz, the Office of School Support and Improvement Director in MCPS. The letter said Assistant Principal Eileen Gardner would be transferring to Quince Orchard on Monday, Jan. 27.
The letter went on to share the change being made to the administration team. “Wootton will be welcoming Ms. Panagiota Tsonis who will serve as an acting assistant principal for the remainder of this school year,” Mullenholz said in the letter.
Tsonis joined the administration team on Jan. 24. Although new to this school community, Tsonis is not new to MCPS. Prior to this year, she was a principal at Newport Mill Middle School until she retired. Although retired, Tsonis has taken acting administration positions within the county when needed. Tsonis will remain an acting assistant principal until the end of this school year. After this year, the county will hire a new assistant principal for the school. “I am happy to be at Wootton supporting you guys. It’s a beautiful school,” Tsonis said.
During the past month Tsonis has been committed to helping students and staff with the sudden change of administrators. Tsonis’ core value comes from the Greek word philotimo, which means conscientiously honoring one’s responsibilities and duties, and not allowing one’s honor, dignity and pride to be sullied. This value is seen in the way she talks to others, regardless of age. She treats and talks to everyone with respect. “In any interaction you have with somebody, I want to have the sense of philotimo, and my honoring you, so I model that you honor me,” Tsonis said.
Tsonis has worked in the county in several other positions. She has been a high school teacher, an assistant principal and a principal, with around 30 years of experience. However this year is her first in this school cluster. “It has been fast in trying to assess where things are but I can see that the student body and the staff have a high degree of commitment to their school community,” Tsonis said.
This is the second administration change the school has seen this year, following Dr. Joseph Bostic stepping in as acting principal after Douglas Nelson was placed on administrative leave on Friday, Dec. 6. “I hope that our administration is now better equipped to handle the school and its issues as I do think maintaining a good administration could be beneficial throughout this year and next year,” junior Mia Stubbins said.
As Tsonis has adjusted to this school and the everyday challenges, she said that she hopes to bring support to administration and the student body in the coming months. “If I can bring any sense of support and stability to the administrative team, the leadership team and the entirety of the school in general, that would give me great pleasure as I am committed to the success of the Wootton community under the leadership of Dr. Bostic,” Tsonis said.
