Mother, educator, and now acting principal of Paint Branch High School–meet Mrs. Pamela Krawczel.
Of course, we all know that Mrs. Krawczel’s arrival at PB was not as simple as just being named acting principal and stepping into this important leadership role at the school.
On August 11, 2023, The Washington Post published an article by Alexandra Robbins and Nicole Asbury that reported shocking and troubling information about Dr. Joel Beidleman, an MCPS administrator who had been named the new principal of Paint Branch in June. According to Robbins and Asbury, Beidleman had “18 verbal or written reports submitted to the school district…by staff members, parents and union stewards since 2016” levied against him. Robbins and Asbury’s article revealed serious allegations regarding improper behavior by Beidleman with colleagues that, according to those interviewed for the piece, were not only not addressed appropriately by the district, but also, in some cases, not addressed at all. Not long after the article’s publication, MCPS placed Beidleman on extended leave.
While this unfolded, the new school year was quickly approaching and PB was in need of a new leader, a person who could take over at a crucial time. In mid-August, Mrs. Krawczel got the call from MCPS that she would be taking over as principal at PB.
At the time of the call, Mrs. Krawczel was actually with her family at her daughter’s baton twirling meet in London, so receiving the call was a bit surreal.
Not only did Mrs. Krawczel have to transition into her role as PB principal suddenly, she also had to deal with the effects of an ongoing investigation of Dr. Beidleman. Regarding this, Mrs. Krawczel says she felt that MCPS handled the situation the “best that they could” during what she described as a time where the district has a “county-wide principal shortage.”
The county, Mrs. Krawczel states, was “aware of my skills.” She knew that calling on her would be the best bet.
Before being named acting principal at PB, Mrs. Krawczel was in the midst of her principal internship at Damascus High School. As soon as Mrs. Krawczel got back from London, she had to wrap up any work and projects she was doing at Damascus and leave for PB the next day. This quick turn around was difficult as “there wasn’t much of a transition,” she reflects.
Now a full four months into the role of principal at PB, Mrs. Krawczel has had time to settle into the position, which has provided an opportunity for her to look ahead to goals she wishes to achieve. Even though Mrs. Krawczel was ready to step in and take over as principal, she has faced many challenges with the new role. “I’m an introvert, generally, so I’m not a big personality,” she explains, “and I build relationships slowly so kids don’t know me as well.” She feels that “it’s hard in the principal role because I spend so much time with adults.” Additionally, she notes that, with a packed schedule, “the only time I really do see students is in the hallway when I tell them to go to class.”
One plan Principal Krawczel has is to connect more with students, so that they can familiarize themselves with her. She believes that being able to connect with students more would impact the school positively and help students understand that she isn’t just “a random lady in the halls telling them to head to class,” but someone they can connect with. One new thing she wants to do is implement more social media coverage and presence at school-wide events. “I’m lousy at social media, but I see a need for it,” she explains.
One of Principal Krawczel’s plans is to build fences around the open wooded areas and trails that lead onto the school campus because it would add an extra level of security. Furthermore, she hopes to continue to revamp and practice evacuation routes to ensure that they’re safe and manageable for all students and staff. She states that the evacuation procedure “isn’t perfect, but it’s getting there.”
In addition to developing and implementing more safety measures, Principal Krawczel wants to bring more wellness activities to the already existing PB Wellness Wednesdays. In terms of what she wants to do, she notes “I want to expand that [Wellness Wednesdays] a little bit…one opportunity could be after PSAT testing to have fun events.”
She adds that, “it’s not only great for stress relief, but for community building.” She understands that students’ classes don’t always offer a lot of time to socialize or “to do things that are just fun…so I definitely want to try to expand wellness days.” In fact, she plans to do it even if it means just starting “off small and growing from there.”
Principal Krawczel wants her time at PB to be productive and she wants to have a positive impact on all PB students. “I want them to enjoy school and I want it to be a safe space,” she says before adding “and I want to make sure we’re improving things for kids in all areas from academics to wellness.”
One of Principal Krawczel’s top priority is to create rules to ensure the safety of all students and faculty while also having a balance of fun activities. She firmly believes that there have to be “rules and processes that benefit the kids…we have to establish rules that work in the best interest of students.”
Overall, Principal Krawczel hopes for a prosperous school year and believes that with the new relationships she’ll form, she will be able to have a positive impact on Paint Branch.