HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — Most Triad school principals continue to prepare to welcome students back to school on Aug. 29 and do so with the hope that they can make greater change in the lives of students and educators.  

Principal Dr. Angela Monell hopes that she can build upon the success she saw in her first year as the principal of a high school.  

Monell said that “being an educator is in my blood” when asked about the reason she chose to become a principal.  

Monell had a career as an English teacher, and prior to her role as the principal of Southwest Guilford High School, she served as the assistant principal on campus.  

“I love being with my students. You are going to find me in the hallway laughing with my students…you have got to remember why you’re doing this,” she said.

Going into the 2022-2023 school year, Monell wants to challenge educators to feel comfortable taking more initiative over their ideas for their campus.  

That includes ways to make students and their parents feel more comfortable with what goes on in the classroom and on campus.  

For the new semester, her campus and dozens of other high school campuses have received touchless security scanners to act as a deterrent for firearms being brought on campus.  

Monell said that as principal, she plans to be in constant communication with administrators to discuss other security methods that could be helpful.  

“We know where the discipline is. We’re working with students. We’re aware of what students are doing or things that students might be doing,” she explained. “We’re the front line. So as much as we can communicate what is happening in our building, we can better serve our community and our students.”  

Her goals also include improving attendance, which is something she said was lower than what she hoped for in her first year given the hesitation parents and students felt along with the intimidation of returning to in-person instruction.  

Monell explained that she and her staff have spent the past few days training on how to better support students in their educational journey.

“We began our training yesterday, and we did… trauma-informed care for students…people were appreciative of that training in particular because it looked at how do we support students better because we know what students have been through during the pandemic,” she said.