Emerson has four people starting leadership roles at the school this year with Marian Kursh as a new Assistant Principal, Elise Marshall as a new Associate Principal, Toby Schulte as a new counselor for last names S – Z and Leigh Casares being promoted from counselor to Lead Counselor. These roles bring various responsibilities, tasks and opportunities for both the adults and the students they get to work with.
Marshall is starting off her second year here as Associate Principal, promoted from being Assistant Principal last year. Her duties have shifted from helping manage just the students and teachers last name S – Z in the social studies department to the entire department, as well as working with administration to maintain and improve the school.
“I love mentorship … so the opportunity and the space to continue to do that where you’re just impacting so many people and you get to support so many people … is amazing,” Marshall said. “Especially … [at] a campus like Emerson where we are just fundamentally constantly looking for better ways to do things”
Filling in the absence of an Assistant Principal after Marshall, Kursh assumes the title. She is now in charge of helping manage the World Languages and CTE, as well as supporting any new teachers this year.
” … I’m looking forward to just learning the system, learning the community, learning more about Frisco ISD and the opportunities for growth as an assistant,” Kursh said.
Meanwhile, Casares, as head counselor, is going to manage the counseling department, which entails coordinating with the other counselors so that they know what they need to help students with, managing scheduling, making sure their information is accurate and making sure the counselors are keeping up with their duties. On top of this, she plays a part in directly working with students to tackle their courses, career plans and other counseling needs.
“I think in our role … especially as counselors, a lot of times [it] is more [of an] education piece,” Casares said. “… Making sure that the information out there is understood, … [and] answering questions for people when they’re not sure what that actually means so that then they can make informed decisions.”
The counselors themselves are deeply involved with students’ school life, needing to develop deep relationships to be able to help them. As a new counselor, Schulte aims to get to know his students so that he can establish himself as a counselor and make an impact on the community.
“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do because all these other counselors have known their students for years,” Schulte said. “… I would say [the] goal as far as student relationships goes is … I get to know their name, … their strengths and weaknesses and where they’re headed.”
But across the different responsibilities and departments these leaders are a part of, they all look forward to getting to work with students, wishing them the best this school year.
“I would just wanna see more and more students get involved and feel like they have a place on campus to get connected, to succeed and to do something that they’re passionate about,” Marshall said.
