Walking through the doors on her first day, Assistant Principal Tiffany Kennedy greets students with a smiling face. She is thrilled to return to the high school environment.
“What attracts me to Mansfield is the programs for the students, like Ben Barber and TCC,” Dr. Kennedy said. “The more programs a high school offers kids, the more they can go out into the world and have a foot ahead of everybody else.”
Kennedy expressed her enthusiasm about her first year at Legacy because of her love for the organization MISD provides their staff and community.
“Mansfield is top-tier. You can’t compare the two,” Dr. Kennedy said. “Mansfield is a district that most people try to get into, but it’s very hard to get into Mansfield.”
Dr. Kennedy started her career teaching high school English I and English II in DeSoto and Cedar Hill and continued for 10 years in that position. She later continued her career as a department chair and was then told by her Dean of Instruction that she would make a great Assistant Principal.
“So I majored in English because I originally wanted to go to law school, but then I ended up loving the teaching position and didn’t end up going to law school,” Dr. Kennedy said.
Dr. Kennedy prefers the rewarding environment of high school because she can give students pieces of information before they go out into the world.
“I would say it takes patience. The students are wonderful, but it takes some love and understanding for the job because this isn’t a job you just have to do,” Dr. Kennedy said.
Assistant Principal Greg Owens works with Dr. Kennedy. They collaborate as part of the Legacy leadership team to ensure student safety, learning and an overall positive experience at school.
“Dr. Kennedy has been a great addition to the leadership team at Legacy High School,” Mr. Owens said. “She is building relationships with students and supporting the overall mission of the campus well.”
Mr. Owens began working with Dr. Kennedy over the summer understanding how she works as an AP and learning to work with her as a colleague.
“Kennedy’s experience allows her to bring great ideas to the team,” Mr. Owens said. “She has great energy for the job and steps up where needed when it comes to student supervision and teacher support.”
Being an Assistant Principal, Dr. Kennedy recognizes the challenges with the job, but she’s learned how to handle them.
“You have to be organized as well, and you can’t be afraid of conflict,” Dr. Kennedy said. “You have to hold people accountable and you have those tough conversations.”
Given Dr. Kennedy’s experience, she knows what to expect from students and how to reward them from an assistant principal position.
“Students are students. You expect certain things from them,” Dr. Kennedy said. “And being able to give people grace when they do, that’s one of my top things.”
