by Daniel Chu ’25
With the start of every new school year comes new teachers, administrators, and other faculty. Mrs. Earwood, Bellarmine’s new Assistant Principal of Academics, brings her experiences in multiple school and educational settings to Bellarmine’s campus. In this interview, she talks about her background, why she chose to come to Bellarmine, and her plans for the future.
A Background Rooted in Student Support
Before coming to Bellarmine, Mrs. Earwood worked in a variety of school settings, starting with 7 years at the United World Colleges network, a group of schools across 18 countries and 4 continents. She worked at UWC Atlantic College in Wales, where she supported students of 96 different nationalities, and UWC ISAK Japan, a similarly diverse institution. Both schools, she highlighted, included students with a variety of backgrounds ranging from royalty to lower income families, which helped her realize the importance of giving students the opportunity to access education. At both of the boarding schools, she was responsible for child protection, curriculum planning for extracurriculars, and overall student support in both academics and pastoral care. She also taught PE at a K to 12 school in Jordan, and supported an outdoor education and residential program at Austrian boarding school St. Gilgen International School.
According to her, the common thread in her experiences at different institutions is the holistic support of students, not only in the classroom, but in all areas involving students. She added that although her current title is the Assistant Principal of Academics, she really works for student support, looking at student schedules not only as academic classes but all academic, extracurricular, and social endeavors. Her end goal, as she noted, is to make sure that students are “feeling fulfilled in progress here,” and “to make sure that the student continues to progress.”
Coming to Bellarmine
Mrs. Earwood explained that after working with so many institutions, especially the UWC network with a strong passion for improving the world that we live in, she found that “when I looked at Bellarmine, that’s the same [passion].” Bellarmine’s ideology of “building men into responsible adults with the responsibility of doing better” especially resonated with her, because the CSP program inspires students “not only to look at ourselves, but to look at those around us.”
Now, her focus will continue to be supporting students at Bellarmine. She noted that while her work varies from day to day, she is involved with multiple administrative teams and initiatives with that focus. For example, the student support team brings together key members in school leadership to discuss policies, procedures, and support of individual students. The morning of the interview, she even took part in a meeting about emergency responses and actions in different scenarios. Finally, she works with the leadership team consisting of other vice principals and Mr. Jemison to look at what Bellarmine administration is doing well, and what could be improved. According to her, “what I want from students about being changemakers [is] thus how I see my role as well.”
Goals for the Future
Currently, Mrs. Earwood hopes to better inform students and parents about what Bellarmine has to offer for students. She explained that “the school has a lot of support already in place, and maybe some students or parents are not aware of what’s on offer.” That entails making sure that communication to students and families is clear regarding resources like teacher office hours, Community Time, the Academic Resource Center, the OED for educational support in the SLC, and personal and college counselors.
One strategy she’s supported is the continuation of info sessions for freshman parents occurring annually. Additionally, she plans to meet with ASB to get input on spreading the word about resources to students, and scheduling coffee mornings with the principal or workshops for parents to better understand what students have access to, all with the goal of figuring out the best way to communicate with students and families.
Outside of Bellarmine’s Campus
Having recently moved to the Bay Area, Mrs. Earwood is still figuring out the area and what activities she has access to. However, some past hobbies and interests have included yoga and meditation, which helps center and relax her; kayaking, which she has coached previously and hopes to pick up again now; and spending time with her family, such as exploring museums. She explained that her husband is a history and global politics teacher, and her daughter is interested in aviation, so they hope to visit different museums in their free time.
Final Words of Advice
To close out the interview, Mrs. Earwood shared a couple pieces of advice for students:
“It all works out in the end.”
“Life’s a rollercoaster (or a wave): there’s ups and downs.”
“You don’t have to go alone, so build your team. There are adults and staff who can be on your team, not just your friends.”
Finally, she wanted to emphasize that her office is in the principal’s suite in Lokey, and her door is almost always open. She would love to meet more students, talk about changes they want to see, and hear about things going well.