Stockman and Maness new principals in Pike Road
Two new principals will greet Pike Road junior high and high school students in the fall.
New high school principal Andrea Domizio Maness brings 18 years of experience in public education, including a strong background in math.
She taught high school mathematics and coached cheerleading for 10 years before becoming an administrator. She has served as a mathematics department chair, and most recently was principal of Carroll High School in Ozark.
Janice Stockman is the new junior high principal. Stockman has been the principal at Prattville Junior High School for the past eight years.
Maness, a native of Troy, said she wasn’t looking to leave her former position but didn’t want to pass up on exploring the opportunity to hear about Pike Road Schools.
“After meeting the team at PRS it quickly became evident that Pike Road is a community that I wanted to be a part of,” she said. “The story of the establishment of Pike Road Schools was very intriguing to me. As a school leader I am always eager to grow professionally, while having the opportunity to make a difference in the community my family serves. I was extremely impressed with the community support for the school. As a whole, I have been most impressed by how welcoming the students and staff have been. It’s clear that we have a community that is personable and willing to support one another.”
Her husband Allen will be teaching and coaching in the school system. Daughter Emma will be joining Pike Road Intermediate School as a 4th grader and son Sam will be attending Pike Road Elementary School as a kindergartener.
“We’re all super excited about being patriots!” she said. “The staff, students, parents, and community leaders have gone above and beyond to welcome Allen, Emma, Sam, and myself. We are ecstatic about joining the community!”
Maness’ background in math has been a plus for the schools she has led. Carroll High School was the first school in the state of Alabama to become a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) certified school, she said.
“STEM teaching is not about just the contents of science, technology, mathematics, or engineering per se. Instead, it’s about the processes and environments that our lead learners create for learning to take place,” Maness said. “When we frame instruction around communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, STEM practices become interwoven into everything we do. These practices are just as relevant in ELA (English language arts), social studies, CTE (career and technical education), and elective courses as they are in the traditional STEM courses.”
Maness received a bachelor’s of science degree in Comprehensive Mathematics Education from Troy State University in 2004, a master’s of science degree in Instructional Leadership and Administration from Troy University Dothan in 2014, and an educational specialist degree in Instructional Leadership from the University of West Alabama in 2020. Currently she is an educational doctorate candidate at the University of Alabama studying rural education with a focus on organizational change and leadership.
Maness and her family are eager to become a part of the spirited Pike Road family.
“We are ecstatic about becoming members of a school community that we consider to be one of the premier districts in the state of Alabama,” Maness said. “We plan to immediately immerse ourselves in Pike Road and are happy that Allen has been hired as a lead learner and coach here as well. Pike Road High School already has such a rich foundation. We plan to come and immediately contribute to helping this community reach even greater levels of success. Everyone has already been so welcoming and helpful. We know that this is going to be a place that we can call home for many years. We’re two feet in! Go Patriots!”
Stockman has been in the Autauga County school system for 18 years. Her sons graduated from Prattville High School and her husband will be the principal at Prattville Elementary in the fall, she said.
She has worked in both elementary and secondary settings during her career and was ready for the new challenge Pike Road presented.
“I truly believe the magic is in the ‘middle’ (school) and have thoroughly enjoyed the past 8 years at Prattville Junior High School,” she said. “The move to Pike Road was to take on a new adventure and a different challenge. They have worked to build a solid program here at Pike Road and I want to continue to build on their foundation. I am passionate about public education and the opportunities it affords our students. I am excited to be a part of the Pike Road Way to help students be successful in their ‘next steps.’”
She said she had been following Pike Road's journey from the very beginning and saw the parents and community buy-in to the program.
“Although it has evolved somewhat, their mission is to provide students the best possible educational foundation,” she said. “I am excited to be a part of the Patriots as they are truly one family with one feeder pattern - it reminds me of growing up and having the same ‘team’ mentality from K-12. We will work to marry progressive practices with tried-and-true education practices.”
She said from a developmental standpoint, junior high aged students are testing boundaries as they try to discover themselves. “We will work to provide safe parameters for students as we balance structure with branching out to discover their interests. We will have a focus on teaching students how to read and utilize their own ‘data’ to help themselves as they navigate their life journey,” she said.
Stockman is an avid reader, a marathon runner, a published author, and has recently learned to crochet. She said her greatest accomplishment is her love of her family including husband of 26 years and twin boys who just finished their first year of college, one at The University of Alabama and one at Auburn University.
She graduated from Troy University in elementary education before earning her master’s in education from Auburn University. Stockman also furthered her education by earning an Administration Certificate from Southern Arkansas University and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Nebraska in Kearney, Ne.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Stockman and Maness new principals in Pike Road
