Wilde Lake has noticeably gained a fair share of new staff for the 2025–2026 school year in many parts of the building. A new face, Ms. Swartz, has taken a spot as the 11th-grade administrator.
Ms. Swartz was previously at Reservoir High School, Oakland Mills High School, and the Homewood Center, working as an American Literature teacher and a school media specialist, then as a mentor teacher. She decided to become an administrator since she saw it as the next “logical step” in her career, describing it as climbing a ladder.
She believes the most important part of being an administrator is being able to make connections. She enjoys being able to connect parents, teachers, and students and to find a middle ground for their problems. “Whenever I have teachers who come to me or parents who come to me, that’s always like the number one question – ‘How is this beneficial for our students?’” she said.
Ms. Swartz really tries to value her relationships with students, understanding their importance, especially as an administrator. She wants everybody to know it’s incredibly important to realize that nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes sometimes. “I think there are times when I walk away and I’m like, okay, I’m doing a good job. And there are other times where I’m like, wow, I really sucked at that today,” she said.
Ms. Swartz has thankfully had a positive time so far here at Wilde Lake, describing the students as very nice. She enjoys having students who are willing to engage, reminding her of her times teaching at her previous schools.
Outside of her job, she competes with horses, something she has been doing since she was a kid. She generally has a love for animals, having two horses, a sheep, a dog, and four cats. Her husband is also a teacher. “So I think we both kind of feel like our kids are at school, and then at home we just have our animals, you know?” she says. She and her family really enjoy engaging with life and its wonders, finding joy in new experiences, especially those they might never have otherwise.
This school year, Ms. Swartz is hoping to feel comfortable being back at a comprehensive school and with all things surrounding it, like the sheer number of students, the events, and the amount of administrative duties. She plans on getting to know all staff and students’ names and learning more about Wilde Lake culture.
