Jenaya Parris named principal of McCool Elementary/Middle School

DoDEA Pacific West District Superintendent Dr. Jacob Sherwood is pleased to announce the selection of Mrs. Jenaya Parris as principal of McCool Elementary/Middle School, located at Naval Base Guam.

Mrs. Parris began formally working with children in various childcare settings in 1996. In 2001, she accepted a position with Catholic Charities Head Start in Baltimore City while attending Coppin State University in her home state of Maryland. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Mrs. Parris joined the Montgomery County Public School system (MCPS). During her tenure in MCPS, she taught fifth, first, and second grades. While exploring the idea of leadership as a classroom teacher, she supported stakeholders and administrators as a mentor teacher for University of Maryland student teachers, and teacher in charge. She completed a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision (PK-12) from Loyola University in 2009.

After leaving the classroom, Jenaya held other positions that allowed her to advocate for children, families, and teachers in Maryland. In 2015, her curriculum work led to a position at DoDEA Headquarters as the PK-5 Social Studies ISS. This position provided the opportunity to coordinate Social Studies and support schools throughout DoDEA. Her desire to work directly with students, teachers, and families again prompted her to seek out a school-based position within the agency. In August of 2017, she joined the team at Patch Elementary School in Stuttgart, Germany as assistant principal. In 2018, Patch Elementary was selected as a National Blue Ribbon School as a result of the collaborative efforts of a group of teacher leaders and the Patch administrative team. In June of 2020, Jenaya returned to the states to join the team at Barkley Elementary school as principal. As a member of Team Barkley, Mrs. Parris spent her time engaging the school community in the work of aligning its practices and school culture with its vision of “Caring, Believing, and Achieving Beyond Expectations.” In January of 2022, Mrs. Parris joined the Pacific East team as principal of Joan K. Mendel Elementary on Yokota Air Base. Mrs. Parris supported the team to build a culture of partnership and collaboration. She implemented PBIS (Panda PAWS), collaborated with stakeholders to start a K-5 Lending Library, and maintained partnerships with installation partners to encourage Airmen to volunteer to support students within the schools.

Jenaya has also worked for the Maryland State Department of Education as an Early Learning Program Specialist. In this role, she supported her department with oversight of the Maryland Preschool for All and Prekindergarten Expansion grants, coordinated operations of the Early Childhood Curriculum project, and was an active member of the state’s accreditation review committee. She also coordinated the Maryland Approved Alternative Preparation Program in Early Childhood Education (MAAPP-ECE). This program provided an alternative pathway to teacher certification in Early Childhood Education to professionals in other fields who were passionate about teaching and learning. Mrs. Parris is currently pursuing a graduate certificate in Restorative Practices from the International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP). She believes in the power of Restorative Practices to build positive and supportive relationships with students and staff. Mrs. Parris feels the daily learning experiences students have directly impact their future. As a result, learning must be student centered, relevant, and connected to real life.

Joining Mrs. Parris is her husband Norberto, her two children, and her mother. Mrs. Parris is excited about starting this new chapter as Principal of McCool Elementary/Middle. She is honored to have the opportunity to lead, learn from, and grow with the staff, students, and families of the McCool community.