Annie Streiff's long and winding road to Warwick Valley High School

New principal wore many hats before becoming an educator, By Abby Wolf Warwick - Annie Streiff took a short break recently from her preparations as the new principal of Warwick Valley High School to introduce herself to the community through The Warwick Advertiser. Warwick Advertiser: Tell us a little about yourself. Annie Streiff: I grew up in Massachusetts and decided to be an opera singer; I was accepted to NYU’s Music Department for voice, eventually earning a bachelor of science in performance. I moved at age 18 from western Massachusetts to (Greenwich Village, in Manhattan). WA: How long have you lived in Warwick? AS: We closed on our small farm 11 years ago and have horses, two barn cats, two house cats, two dogs (a Siberian Husky and a Belgian Tervuren - a herding dog), a rabbit and a guinea pig named Portia (like the character in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice). WA: What are some of the things you’ve done professionally? AS: I did Off-Broadway theater and made a little money; also I made a decent, modest living as a vocalist. I was a cantor at St. Joseph’s Church in the Village for 11 years. I did a recital at Carnegie Hall, some shows and also musical theater. WA: Did you become a teacher immediately after your show business career? AS: No, there was a transition to private investigative work. I was on the faculty of CAT (Creative Arts Team, now part of CUNY) and was office manager there. I learned computers, did investigations for a computer security firm, and generally “tinkered.” Eventually, I made the leap to private investigations in Manhattan for corporations - for mergers and acquisitions, providing background checks, corporate surveillance, that sort of thing. WA: What was it like? AS: Interesting - I did a lot of legal work, especially for insurance companies. Then I designed investigations and hired outside contractors to do the (actual) investigations. WA: So, you enjoyed doing this sort of work? AS: It was a revelation. (Somehow though,) I didn’t feel I was contributing to something larger, and eventually the work became dangerous. WA: How did you make the leap to education? AS: After being stuck in traffic on the Cross Bronx Expressway one day, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher: It felt like a weight was lifted from me…. I ended up getting my (teacher’s) certification. Because I was living in Rockland County, I chose to student teach in Suffern. I made myself invaluable and ended up staying at the high school. WA: What were some of your accomplishments there? AS: I taught English; Shakespeare for college credit; directed and produced the spring musical; coached the Varsity swimming team for 10 seasons; and ran Ramapo’s Learn to Swim program. As part of my administrative internship certificate, I formed a performing arts program at Suffern High School. I’m very proud of beginning that - Suffern’s a creative school - and I take pride that the program continues to grow. WA: Did you want to continue in the classroom, or was there something else you wanted to achieve? AS: As much as I enjoyed teaching in Suffern, there were no leadership opportunities there. I met with the Superintendent - people were extremely generous - but there was no opportunity to advance to an administrative-level position. WA: Why did you choose Warwick schools? AS: After Suffern, the opportunity arose to be assistant principal at Clarkstown North (in Rockland County); I was there for three years and received tenure this year. Clarkstown North is similar in many ways to Warwick, in size and administrative makeup: there are approximately 1,600 students, led by one principal and three assistant principals. Still, I wanted to continue to grow as a leader. People there (Clarkstown North) are wonderful, but it was clear that I was going to be staying there a while. On the other hand, I knew that Warwick would be perfect: It has a hugely strong faculty, great opportunities for growth, the school is physically beautiful and I have tremendous faith in the community. WA: Name some of your goals. AS: At present I am working on my PhD in education administration and policy; I’m nearly done with my coursework, and hope to write my dissertation in the next two years. Also, I want to learn who people in the school community are. I’ll be relying on the expertise of the staff - I have much to learn from them - in order to get a sense of where we are, what we do well, what we need to work on. WA: Have you met with any of the staff yet? AS: I met with my Building-Level Leadership Team: Mr. Odom, Mr. Lisack and Miss Alston (the three assistant principals). Mr. Odom gave me a wonderful tour of the building, talked about programs; I got a nice sense of the layout. WA: What do you expect your first week at Warwick High School to look like? AS: Incredibly energizing - a fresh start for the kids, the administration and staff. It’s an opportunity to have a great year.