Written by Aubrey Daniels

In the 2021-2022 school year, we welcomed 2 new administrators into our school, including our first assistant principal, Ms. Stephanie Henshaw. I had the opportunity to meet with her and interview her to ask about coming into Rush. She told us about why she came to Rush specifically and her advice for the new students. Thank you Ms. Henshaw for giving me the opportunity to meet with you!

Aubrey: How did you get started in education?

Ms. Henshaw: I always wanted to be a teacher since I was a little kid. I went into college and I had picked a major of math secondary education, and I was actually one of those people that kept my major all those years. I graduated with a secondary education degree certification in math and did my student teaching at University City in Philly. Then after that, I did a short half of the year at Olney High School. Then, in September 2004, I went to Roxboro and that was my permanent school up until last year when I came here.

Aubrey: What brought you to Rush? 

Ms. Henshaw: When I interviewed for the assistant principal position, I really just loved the atmosphere, you know? Coming from the school that I was previously at, it was a lot more of not focusing on education and it was more like putting out fires all the time. So one thing that I liked about here is the major structure and all the different arts that you guys are involved in. I love that you get into it in 9th grade and you continue it all the way through 12th. I was just so impressed by all the programs, the performances, everything that I had seen.

Aubrey: What is it like coming to run to school but being in a COVID world? 

Ms. Henshaw: A big chunk of what I dealt with in the beginning was Covid related. Like it would be like oh I had all these grand plans of I’m gonna get this done today, I’m gonna go see this teacher, I want to go see this class, I want to go to lunch, and all that would get changed by – there’s a positive case and you just have to drop everything. So that is very different. I will say walking in on the first day, Dr. Bailey and I were like we’re going to start back but I don’t know how long we’re gonna be here. Maybe we’ll get shut down. That was a worry very much in the beginning. Once we made it through the first and second month, I was like, all right, I don’t think we’re gonna get shut down, but we’re now thinking about as we’re getting close to the holidays, that’s always a great and exciting time. We’re also thinking about that time when we come back after Thanksgiving, where people may have visited families and seen people that they’re not normally seeing. We have to make sure we come back and we have to make sure that we’re extra safe so that we can continue to stay here. Once we return from Christmas break, it’s kind of like enjoying those moments but also being hyper-vigilant about what’s to come when we come back. 

Aubrey: What do you look forward to the most while running the school here?

Ms. Henshaw: I look forward to starting to recognize students, which is so hard in the beginning with the masks. When I was a classroom teacher, I would make it a goal. I have to know all my students’ names by the end of the second week. I would test myself when handing out papers. Here, it’s so hard because I interact with so many different kids on such a different level, and I’m not with them for maybe an hour at a time, like I would be in class. So one thing I’m looking forward to is learning more of the students. Another thing that I’m really looking forward to is the performances because the Hispanic Heritage Assembly was amazing. And if that was just a glimpse of what’s to come, I’m really looking forward to that. 

Aubrey: Is there any advice you have for the students as they navigate this year after either not being in the building for over a year or not being in the building at all?

Ms. Henshaw: I think it’s definitely important to form a bond with the teachers that you have, you know, getting to know them this way. Like, God, forbid, there was that we had to go out, there are teachers that you can go to. Soak in as much as you can with them when we are in person because if we ever have to go out, at least you know who your go to’s are and things like that. The other thing is I love the clubs that we have. I see so many students after school, doing what you can and managing your schedule so that you can get there and join these things. It’s important in high school to not just take away the academics but to take away the social aspect of being involved. I’ve seen seniors who get to, you know, they’re filling out those college applications and they’re like well what am I really involved in? So try to get it involved as much as you can because it’s important to form those other bonds because then you really get a full community atmosphere at school. I remember being in musicals and the drama club at my school and that made me know the upper class. I always saw someone that I knew in the hallway and other things like that. So I think just trying to make yourself a part of the whole school community, not just your academics are important for students.

Aubrey: What at Rush do you see that is different from previous schools you have been at?

Ms. Henshaw: I would say the climate, 1000%. I was from a school where academics weren’t really important. Not because we didn’t want it to be important, but the students were not just focused on it. So everyone here, I know is coming in like, alright, I’m here for academics. Like, it’s a privilege for many people to be here, and the students take that seriously. I think that what I’ve learned is that everyone who’s a student here wants to protect that. So that makes it a really welcoming community to be a part of. I think one thing that I’m just seeing now is just kind of because we were home for so long. It’s kind of like facilitating those relationships between the students that were here. Prior and new students that you know, maybe never set foot in the building, trying to make that back to like mesh together so that we are becoming one community.