When it comes to Monroe County schools, Stanley Switlik principal Linda Schaefer has done – well, just about all of it. And on May 29, she watched students file out the doors of the elementary school one final time as she headed off into retirement.
While she spent her final four years as Switlik’s leader, a career spanning more than three decades with MCSD began – and mostly unfolded – in the Lower Keys and Key West, when most knew her as Linda Diaz.
It started in 1992, when she was hired at what was then Glynn Archer Elementary School after finishing her degree with Nova Southeastern University. One of her professors? None other than recently-retired superintendent Theresa Axford. One of her first friends and closest coworkers in the district: current deputy superintendent Amber Acevedo.
“They were looking for teachers who were willing to experiment with computers, and Linda and I were the two that raised our hands,” Acevedo told the Weekly. “Linda expanded her knowledge base, went to classes. She always had a thirst for learning and began helping other teachers.”
That desire would lead her to three other schools – Sigsbee, Sugarloaf and Switlik – with 17 years of teaching and multiple district roles over a career that spanned 10 superintendents. Beyond her time in the classroom, both Schaefer and Acevedo said, she was focused on creating systems for teacher training and any administrative role the district threw at her. That meant everything from supervising the district’s Title 1 program to serving as the head of teacher training for all Monroe County schools.
“She was always game to learn more, do more,” Acevedo said. “That was the type of person she is, and that’s why she’s done so much. There are so many people, not just students but adults – she’s really been someone who helped them, molded their futures and helped them become better teachers.
Sitting down with the Weekly on one of her final days of school, Schaefer admitted the reality of retirement hadn’t fully registered yet. But with a summer trip to Europe with her husband John on the horizon, along with plenty of time to hang with their cat Stanley, work on stage and behind the scenes at Marathon Community Theatre, and pick out a new Netflix series, she said she’s looking forward to all of it.
Photos by ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly
The following answers were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Was education originally the plan? I actually went to college for broadcast communications at a little college in Tennessee. We had a 50,000-watt FM radio station – I read the news and did disc jockey stuff, gave Steve Miller a run for his money. I moved to the Keys in 1988, and I went into education because that was the only degree you could get here at the time, through Nova. It turned out that I loved it.
You’re just days away from retirement. How does it feel? I think it will hit when it’s time for students to come back in August. My sister (Jessica Caton) teaches at Gerald Adams and my brother-in-law (Henry Boza) teaches at Key West High School, so our Sunday family dinners are all school talk. I don’t know what I’m going to talk about now!
You’ve worked with basically every school in the district. What stands out about Switlik? In other regions, they have charter schools and a lot of different options. Because we’re the (one) elementary school in Marathon, everyone here is 100% invested in this school. You don’t always see that to the same extent.
Do you have a particular moment when you felt like you made a big difference in a kid’s life? Glynn Archer was the school that had the neediest kids, and they loved to be at school. I had a student who had a really tough time and actually had to repeat a grade. I really tried to mentor her and spend time with her, and being in Key West, I was able to follow the kids all through their careers. She told me, “I remember when I was in fourth grade, and you told me that if I didn’t get busy, I’d be in fourth grade again.”
How about a moment when you didn’t have it all together? I have two “Fake It ’Til You Make It” shirts. If I know it’s going to be a crazy day, I put one on, and the day turns out fine. I was actually wearing one when I came here to meet the staff for the first time.
Any parting message to staff? I’d tell them to keep doing what they’re doing and love the kids, with the individualization and the attention to students as people, not just learners. Making them members of the community and making them feel successful and special – that’s what the staff is all about here.
Is there a moment you ‘hang your hat on’ from your career? I think being the principal here. It’s a job where I was able to take all the things I learned from all the previous positions and help make a difference, whether it’s budgets, grant writing, recertification or helping teachers move forward.
What are the biggest challenges now in education versus when you started? When I started in 1992, we didn’t even have classroom computers. Now, the challenge is with screen time, short attention spans and technology – it’s definitely a difference.
How about A.I. – where is its role headed in education? You can’t turn back the progress that’s been made, but it’s like Star Wars – go to the light instead of the darkness, and use it for the right reasons. It’s like when Google first became a thing. You have to take it with a grain of salt; it’s about putting in that skepticism, that reality check of ‘is this really accurate?’
We all know you’re not supposed to have ‘favorite students.’ But … did you? There’s a sixth grader who’s over at the middle school now who just warms my heart.
How do you think your teachers would describe you? Depends on the day (laughs). I’ve had people tell me I can say almost anything in a politically correct way, but still get my point across. I think they know that whatever decisions I’m making, I’m trying to do it for the best of everyone. So I’d like to believe they’d see me as being fair.
