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ANDOVER, Mass.—After taking into account input received from faculty, staff, and students, Head of School Barbara Chase has reappointed Marlys Edwards to another two years as dean of students, a position she has held since August 2002.
“I considered all the advice offered very carefully,” said Chase, in an e-mail sent out to faculty and staff on Friday, January 6, in which she thanked people for their input. “It became clear as I read through your comments that Marlys’ continued service in this capacity would serve the Academy well.”
Chase added, “As you all know, Marlys has worked extremely hard and with much success in this challenging role, and we are grateful to her for her willingness to continue for the next two years.”
In accepting the reappointment, Edwards says she is looking forward to using the next two years to achieve a number of different goals. For example, she’d like to revise the current life issues program by instituting ideas from the non sibi residential education program developed by the grade task force. She also would like to institute a debit card system for students, and she’d like to create a campus that is more environmentally aware.
“I would also like to provide peer counseling for proctors and prefects as well as provide more training to students who assume a leadership role, either as proctors and prefects or as officers in clubs and organizations,” says Edwards. “Sometimes students take on these jobs without understanding leadership models.”
Edwards joined the PA faculty in 1991 as an English teacher, and over the years she has served the school in a number of capacities, including those of house counselor and cluster dean. Today, in addition to serving as dean of students, she also is a member of the English department, a house counselor for Samaritan House, and the head of the school’s antiques and artifacts program.
Prior to coming to Andover, Edwards served as the athletic director for Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn. She holds a B.A. degree from Brooklyn College and an M.A. degree from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College.
In looking back over her past six years as dean of students, Edwards says she focused a significant part of her efforts on creating a more home-like environment in dormitories and helping house counselors with what is an increasingly difficult job. Toward that end, she oversaw the creation of a House Counselor Handbook as well as the development of more support systems for residential counselors. These have included the establishment of faculty meetings, the creation of a strong house counselor committee, and improvement in parent communication.
“I love working with students and supporting house counselors in their very important work,” says Edwards. “With students, my goal is to make their life rich with experience during their time at PA. Sometimes, however, students make mistakes, creating situations that can be difficult for house counselors and cluster deans to deal with.” She adds, “In those instances, my goal is to help people look not only to the disciplinary response but to craft a solution that allows the student to learn from their mistakes. Doing that well requires having a strong partnership with parents, and as we move forward, I hope to make that partnership even stronger.”
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