Hoping to bring an unconventional standard of excellence to Westwood, Ms. Sarah Lowery has taken on the role of the new associate principal, and is eager to explore campus dynamics for the rest of this school year. With a diverse career journey behind her as a swim coach, teacher, and assistant principal at multiple different high schools, Ms. Lowery aims to utilize her perspectives from her previous jobs to give students the tools they need to grow, not just academically, but also as people, professionals and the future of society.

Throughout her own schooling, Ms. Lowery switched campuses several times, and as a result, did not form many connections with her teachers. But at the high school she stayed at for the longest period, she met a math teacher that would change her perspective on not only that specific discipline, but her outlook on her future. 

“I had a teacher my senior year who was my AP Calculus BC teacher, and I absolutely adored her,” Ms. Lowery said. “It was the first time that I’d ever had a teacher who made an intentional effort to connect with me. I don’t think I really connected with math until I got to her classroom. One day, she sat me down and pushed a South Carolina Teaching Fellow application in front of me, and it was her confidence in my skills that was really a difference-maker in my life.”

Throughout her career in education, Ms. Lowery has always prioritized teaching students perseverance through academics. While still considering the brunt of academic content important, Ms. Lowery believes that the process of engaging with academics is an ideal medium to teach students the grit they need to face challenges they will face throughout their lives.

“I think what was really critical for me is that math has never been about math,” Ms. Lowery said. “It was about building grit and endurance in students. Even when I was teaching calculus in the classroom, I didn’t really care if a student could do an integral. Yes, we want students to have great AP scores, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is that our students can rise up to challenges, fail, and get back up again and do more hard things.”

“I had some mentors who pushed me and thought I would be great serving in a campus leadership role beyond just department chair,” Ms. Lowery said. “I found myself wanting to do more, wanting to serve the community, and wanting to serve students in a greater sense, so I pursued my administration certificate. I already had a master’s degree at that point, and started shadowing in the administration offices and working with some of my mentors which is how I became an assistant principal.”

As an associate principal, Ms. Lowery aims to help the entire student body find success in academics. While she acknowledges the potential for success in the AP and IB programs, Ms. Lowery hopes for even students outside of these programs to pave robust and high-achieving paths to their futures through schooling.

“I am challenged to serve all the students of Westwood so that every student can be academically successful,” Ms. Lowery said. “I think Westwood has that tradition of excellence with our diverse population, and I think it’s important that every student, every student voice is able to find their path for future readiness, something that they can be involved in, and a teacher that they can connect with.”

Ms. Lowery also aims to continue fostering the different communities at Westwood, and find unity in the diversity of the student body. She hopes that students will be able to learn more about themselves through the perspectives of others.

“I think we achieve the greatest things through community,” Ms. Lowery said. “We are our best self through others, and one of the things that makes Westwood special is the power of the community.”