After 20 years of being in the education field, junior assistant principal Angie Pappas-Muyco is making her way to head principal of Parkway South High.

She has taught at South for 13 years, seven years teaching English, then six years being an assistant principal. Before South, she spent seven years at Afton High School teaching English. 

“Well, the opportunity presented itself, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity for me to at least try and put myself out there and take the risk. I have been an assistant principal for seven years, so I feel the skills I have developed in this role have given me at least a strong foundation to start out on to be a head principal,” she said. 

The board of education finalized the decision on March 9 and it was announced to Parkway South the next day.

That day Pappas-Muyco said she felt lots of love from the South High faculty. 

“It was really overwhelming and exciting. I felt so much love that day. I was super excited. First of all, I am very overjoyed and honored to have this opportunity. This is a great school, and we have tremendous staff and students. This is a huge honor to me. I am looking forward to taking the good things we do at South and continuing to build on these to prepare us for the next steps, future-readiness, and all the exciting things that can happen for students here with the strong support we have,” she said.

English teacher Matt Timmons said he is also excited for Pappas-Muyco and what she is going to bring to South.

“She will be an amazing principal, and South is lucky to have her. She will continue the warm and supportive atmosphere that exists at South for students and staff, and she will continue to be a strong advocate for all South students,” said Timmons. 

Pappas-Muyco said she loves working with kids.

“I love working with young people; you guys are so exciting and funny, and no day is the same. I feed off the energy young people give to me. I love to watch learning happening and students to really discover what their passions are and to be able to go out and continue to follow that passion. I just love being in a school because I love learning and teaching, and it is just a natural part of that,” she said. 

Junior Tatum Nelson knows she was a great junior principal.

“She was a great junior principal because she has always been super organized, and she prepares students for events far in advance. She always sent multiple emails to the junior class to ensure that they didn’t forget about upcoming events,” said Nelson. 

Nelson thinks that Pappas-Muyco’s experience from being a junior principal will help her make a great head principal. 

“I am looking forward to having Mrs. Pappus-Muyco as a principal because she has always been a representative of South. She lets students have fun at school while still being a good leader. She always has a positive outlook on everything. She makes sure that students are happy at South, and she goes out of her way to prepare students for their future,” said Nelson. 

Even though Pappas-Muyco loves being an administrator, there are times when she misses her teaching days. 

“I miss teaching so much. There are days when I miss it so much that I just go sit in a class and just put myself back in those shoes. So teaching was fun and different from this job because, again, you have those opportunities to really make those connections and build those relationships with students in ways that are a little bit different than you would as an administrator. I miss teaching English and reading people’s writing and also having those really thoughtful conversations that students would have when we would read books and to have class discussions. Those engaging moments are things that I really miss,” said Pappas-Muyco. 

Pappas-Muyco shared an interesting story about when she decided to apply for the head principal position–it was at her son’s wrestling tournament.

“After Dr. Atich shared with me she was going to retire, I was really thinking about if it was the right time. I have a fifteen-year-old and a ten-year-old, and my husband is also a teacher, and he is a coach, so it’s like how this changes life. I was visiting Seckman High School, my son had a wresting tournament, and I saw a sign that their school when I walked in. I opened the door, and I saw this signed that said ‘Trust the Timing of Your Life.’ I really felt like that was the moment where something greater than me was telling me, you have to go for this. That was pretty significant for me where I felt like this is a sign, I really believe in that, and I have to try for this. It’s a now or never kinda thing,” said Pappas-Muyco. 

Although through all the excitement she said she is a little nervous for the big change ahead.

“I don’t really know what I don’t know yet, and I am sure there will be days when I make a mistake and have to just use my support around me to help me navigate that. There will definitely be opportunities for me to continue to learn in this role. That makes me a little bit nervous, I don’t want to let people down, but I know my level of commitment will hopefully carry me through those tough times,” she said. 

Even through all the nerves and big changes, Pappas-Muyco said she is so grateful for this amazing opportunity.  

“I am really honored and overjoyed to have this opportunity. I am just super excited and nervous at the same time. I just look forward to really working with teachers, staff, and even the greater South community in this role, because that is something a principal gets to do where an assistant principal doesn’t necessarily get to do as much. So I am really looking forward to bringing all those stakeholders together to really make the South community strong, stronger than it already is, and really focus on making South High school the best to be,” she said.