AHS Welcomes New Assistant Principal
By Jacqueline Zhu
COPY EDITOR
Alicia Linsey became Andover High School’s new assistant principal on January 3, 2023, replacing John Norton.
Linsey began working at AHS in 2000 as a guidance counselor. She remained at AHS for almost 10 years, after which she was employed as a counselor at Lexington High School and the director of counseling at Bedford Public Schools. In September of 2021, Linsey returned to AHS as the clinical coordinator for the transitional learning program, which assists students who have been absent for a long period of time and are returning to school.
New assistant principle Alicia Linsey poses for a picture.
Linsey described the role of assistant principal as a strong advocate for students. “It’s important to me to maintain an inclusive community and culture at AHS and encourage student agency,” she stated. “One of my goals is to incorporate students’ perspectives into decision-making and activity-planning.”
One of the ways Linsey is promoting student voices is through the H-Block Design Team, which is composed of 15 faculty members across departments. “AHS students were recently polled to see what they wanted as H2-H5 options,” she stated. “There were over 620 responses. Students’ interests were shared at a faculty meeting, and the team is working to create more opportunities based on this student feedback.”
Linsey is also aiming to provide greater opportunities for student leadership and foster connections among students. “The purpose of H1 is to create a sense of community between students and faculty at our large school by creating small groups,” she explained. “This year, our ninth-grade groups are designed so that each H1 group has the same school counselor, assistant principal, and three to four student ambassadors.”
The ambassadors, who are upperclassmen, meet with their groups once a month to provide mentoring and answer students’ questions.
“I’ve been meeting with students in small focus groups to hear their perspectives on H-block,” stated Linsey. “Some of the student ambassadors are also working on creating an H-block bulletin board in the cafeteria.”
Linsey’s favorite aspect of her new position is working with students. “I’d like to continue to develop opportunities for student leadership,” she said. “I hope students see their assistant principal as a supportive adult on their team.”
