Meet the New Activities Director
By Reem Abdelmagid | Staff Writer | Nov. 23, 2019 |
JACKSONVILLE, FL (SCPDA)—Ms. Tangela Ennis is Stanton College Preparatory School’s new activities director, and after 10 years of being an activities director at William M. Raines High School, and three years of being a Stanton teacher, she now organizes a range of school events, from pep rallies to prom.
Photo taken by Hannah Furry.
DEVIL’S ADVOCATE: How long were you a math teacher at Stanton?
TANGELA ENNIS: I completed three full years as a math teacher at Stanton and this is my first year as activities director. I’ve been with [Duval] county since 2003, so I’ve been a math teacher for quite awhile and I’ve taught everything from eighth grade mathematics up through pre-calculus and math for college readiness.
DA: When you first came to Stanton, did you see yourself becoming activities director in the future?
TE: I honestly did not, Mrs. [Diana] Glendinning looks very young, so I had no clue when I first got here that she was retiring within the next few years. When I first got hired at Stanton, my main focus was just mathematics and volleyball. The activities director thing came about, I would say, at the very end of last year, going into the summer. There were other positions [available], testing coordinator was also open, but Stanton was going through a transition and activities director seemed to be the position that fit me the best.
DA: Preparing for school last year during the summer, how is that different as a math teacher versus as an activities director?
TE: I actually prepare a lot over the summer. I’m a very reflective person so I will look and see what things went well one year and how I can keep those things. I will also look at what things didn’t go so well or what things I think I can adjust and make better, so I do a lot of lesson outlining, not necessarily specific planning, but outlining over the summer. So this year, when I officially got this position about midway through the summer, I didn’t have to do as much planning. But one thing I will say is that Mrs. Glendinning, the previous activities director was great. She left a lot of information, timelines and things like that for me. The things that I would’ve normally been doing during the summer, she had already gotten me started on, so I was able to just pick up on some of those and then add my own flavor, if you will, to others.
DA: Being an activities director at Stanton, how are you adjusting to that new position?
TE: I am enjoying the new position, I do miss mathematics a little bit, but I enjoy interacting with students and seeing students happy. That’s one of my things as a [former] teacher, an activities director and a coach. I’ve just been blessed in my career to be able to be an intrical part of all three of those [aspects of] a student’s high school career.
DA: How was planning your first pep rally?
TE: Planning my first pep rally was fun and I had been an activities director in the past, so it wasn’t totally new to me. Stanton’s culture is different than any other culture or high school I’ve been at and I think that’s great, so I’m just trying to make sure that we honor the traditions and things that Stanton has had while also bringing a new flair of flavor to it. And also, my Leadership students are great, and they helped tremendously and so we had a lot of brainstorming sessions and I would bounce some things off of them and say “Hey, I kind of envision this,” but they did a magnificent job of executing.
DA: Has preparation for the next pep rally begun?
TE: It actually has. I have several of my classes now working on ideas, different things. This [pep rally] will give us a lot more time to do different things and get other students involved. I feel that pep rallies are definitely for your sports teams but I also think the whole school should be involved as much as possible and not just selected individuals.
DA: What is one thing you’d like to implement during your time as activities director?
TE: That is a very good but tough question. First and foremost, the activities here, I want to make sure that I can keep those on that same high level and there is no dropoff in, say, Winterfest or Multi. There are some things, I have tons of ideas of things that I may think about implementing, but I just kind of want to learn the ropes and then see where we can go, what I can do to help enrich the culture and diversity at this school
DA: What’s your favorite aspect of the job?
TE: I think I’m a very creative person and so I enjoy that part of it, and my job is just to start the brainstorming process. Like I said my Leadership kids are very talented so I can start some things and they do a good job of finishing them off or they can start some things and I can add my two cents in it. The creativity is one of the things I like best about it. And like I said, being able to put a smile on a students face. We have a very rigorous curriculum here at Stanton and I fully believe that students need an outlet.The fact that I can be a part of that and allow them to do something that lets them take their minds off of their academic pressures for a second and just have fun and enjoy the “ubuntu” spirit that we have here at Stanton is probably the most rewarding thing about this position.
Photo retrieved from Google Images.
DA: How do you balance all of your responsibilities as activities director, volleyball coach, and sophomore class sponsor?
TE: One thing I tell students all the time that I think I’ve been very good at is time management. I keep things on calendars, most of them on my phone. I’m not much of a paper person. I also have a to-do list app on my phone and my computer; I pull that up everyday and go through my list. I also try to do a good job of planning things in advance. You know we started a while back planning Winterfest, as well as the magnet tours and the Miss Stanton Pageant. I’ll just have some things “Okay, I need to get this done this week, this done this week, this done this week, and so forth.” By planning it out in advance and having those to-do lists, it helps me keep everything organized. I would say organization and time management are the two things that help keep me where I need to be and on top of things.
DA: What do you wish to get out of this position?
TE: Out of this position, teaching and being an educator, the most that you wish to get is to see your kids smile. You want to see them enjoying their high school career, and most importantly, I just want to see that I had some positive influence on their life, no matter how large or small. I’ve had several former Stanton volleyball players come back and say something to me or write me on Facebook. I’ve seen former students out and about and they say something. Just to know that you’ve had a positive impact on a person’s life in some sort of way is all you can hope for as an educator.
DA: What are you most excited for this year?
TE: I’ve actually been excited about all of my events so I have to say the next event coming up. Right now I’m excited about Winterfest, and as soon as Winterfest is over I’ll be excited about magnet tours, as soon as magnet tours are over, I’ll be excited about the Miss Stanton Pageant. I really do enjoy all the various activities that we do and I look forward to each and every one of them. It brings me excitement and there’s something new everyday when you come to work that you have to look forward to.