What will come from the newly welcomed Vice-Principal Mrs. LaNova Schall, when she comes to Edison Intermediate School, with all new motives and progression towards the school? When she was younger, she never decided on being a vice principal from the start. “I did always want to work with kids though. I wanted to be a pediatrician,” Mrs. Schall explained.

She also mentioned that she would always keep her head in education after retirement. For college, she went to Penn State University for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fordham in New York. She then got involved in a teaching program at Harvard. Before coming to her new job in Westfield, she worked in Somerville at an elementary school called Van Derveer, once again as a vice-principal for two years. She has been working in the teaching field for over ten years before coming to this school. Mrs. Schall moved here because of the fantastic school districts, she wanted to be able to make an impact on the school. “I knew that I needed some growth,” Mrs. Schall shared. 

Sommerville, where she worked before, was not as large and could not allow for much advancement as she wanted to put in. She used to be a teacher and started to mentor others. She realized the more teachers that were helped, the more kids she could help too.  “I miss these moments where I get to interact with the students directly rather than seeing them in the hallways. I don’t miss lesson plans, though,” Mrs. Schall admitted. 

Even though she misses this, she knows she can help other teachers and have a good influence on the schools.

 “I liked that there are only three grades in the middle school unlike the elementary school where I used to work,” Mrs. Schall commented. 

She likes the community and school building though she dislikes that we have to wear masks and wishes to change that in the near future. Mrs. Schall hopes that we could change lunch and have everyone eat together, unlike our plan now.

However, there are things in the EIS policies she feels positively about, “I love how people can express themselves in what they wear. I have only spoken to one girl because they had something inappropriate on her shirt. But other than that, I believe in freedom of expression,” she mentioned. 

When Mrs. Schall arrived at EIS, she knew she was going to make a difference. “I am most passionate about education, having a growth mindset, and for children to grow and learn,” Mrs. Schall expressed. 

Mrs. Schall believes that everyone should be kind to one another in order to have an enjoyable school year. “I can already see a positive change in our school on behalf of Mrs. Schall. She spreads motivation and the idea of a growth mindset to all of the students here,” eighth grader Reid Snyder remarked.

EIS principal Dr. Mathew Bolton stated,  “I am incredibly excited to have Mrs. Schall as part of the Edison school community. I look forward to the many ways that she will contribute to the leadership of our school.”