Head of school Armistead lemon meets with the Herald staff (sept. 2022)
Armistead Lemon recently took over as the Head of School and sat for an interview for Journalism class.
Accomplished for being the first female head of North Cross School, Lemon exemplifies leadership qualities. Although she wore muted colors, her shining smile and kind spirit shone through.
Lemon reflected on the many changes she has seen since the time she attended in the early ‘90s. Lemon seems to lead with pride, humility and tenderness as she sees the difference she can make. She hopes to make the school a better place and integrate more diversity.
“To be the Head of the School is the greatest honor of my life,” she said.
Known as Ms. Lemon to students, she graduated with the class of ‘95. She worked as an English teacher and Director of the Upper School at Harpeth Hall before coming back to North Cross. She has two sons now attending the Lower School, Henry ‘33 and James ‘35.
As a leader, she enjoys collaborating with others. She views collaboration as the key to success.
“I think being a collaborator is important,” she said. “There are so many smart people and there are so many ways of approaching something. You want to get all the smart people around you to help you make good decisions.”
“The work is never done.”
What has changed?
“Aesthetics matter to me, space really matters to me. North Cross is beautiful and I love that. To be able to come back and see this place so beautiful is really meaningful. There has been an investment made in the students and the programs.”
What does it mean to be Head of School?
“It is the greatest honor of my life. Honestly, I love this place and have such a debt of gratitude to the faculty, to the staff, to the leadership, to the parents.”
What makes you different?
“I’m a listener and a collaborator.”
What makes a good leader?
“Every day there’s something new, something you did not see coming. You have to be able to roll with it, laugh at yourself and laugh and have fun with others. You have to be willing to not always be liked all the time because you have to make tough decisions and not everybody is happy with those. But you have to try to do the right thing and sometimes make the hard decisions. I think being a listener is probably the number one thing, just being able to listen and really get a sense of what’s important. What are people trying to tell you? What’s not being said? You need to be asking questions. So, I think listening is key. There are just so many things, but being a collaborator.”
What is your [long term] goal for North Cross?
“The most important thing is that North Cross endures. I feel so fortunate to have been to school here in the ‘90s. I’m so glad to be back. My children are in the Lower School, but I would want you all to send your children here someday. So, my goal is for (the school) to be always on an upward trajectory, but even more importantly to be sustainable and to endure.”
What are your [short term] goals at NCS?
“One of them is to get to know everybody in the community and really have conversations and listen. I’m trying to be really careful and respectful of what has happened before. So, there’s no one major change. … I’ve been thinking a lot about professional development for the faculty, support for the faculty and just making sure that we’re continuing to invest in our faculty. That’s really top of mind for me. I also think a lot about the programming that you all get to participate in -- it’s pretty awesome. I know that travel is a big part. And if that’s going to be a big part, I’d love for everybody to be able to travel. It’s a real financial commitment to do that. So how could we create a program where anybody who wanted to travel could do that? I am thinking about expanding opportunities for all of you, and really continuing to invest in our teachers. Those are two things that are at the top of my mind.”
Do any of your future plans for North Cross focus on diversity or people of color?
“I hear people refer to North Cross as ‘home’ a lot and I want that for every student, that sense of belonging, that this is a place where you want to be, a place you want to come home to. Those of you who are boarding are here all the time, right? And those who are day students, many of you spend more time here than you do with your families because of sports. So, it is a kind of home, and it’s important to me that everybody who’s here feels that sense of belonging.”
Where did you go shopping when you were a student?
Lemon and her friends would go to Charlottesville or Greensboro to look for more fashion options.
Accomplished for being the first female head of North Cross School, Lemon exemplifies leadership qualities. Although she wore muted colors, her shining smile and kind spirit shone through.
Lemon reflected on the many changes she has seen since the time she attended in the early ‘90s. Lemon seems to lead with pride, humility and tenderness as she sees the difference she can make. She hopes to make the school a better place and integrate more diversity.
“To be the Head of the School is the greatest honor of my life,” she said.
Known as Ms. Lemon to students, she graduated with the class of ‘95. She worked as an English teacher and Director of the Upper School at Harpeth Hall before coming back to North Cross. She has two sons now attending the Lower School, Henry ‘33 and James ‘35.
As a leader, she enjoys collaborating with others. She views collaboration as the key to success.
“I think being a collaborator is important,” she said. “There are so many smart people and there are so many ways of approaching something. You want to get all the smart people around you to help you make good decisions.”
“The work is never done.”
What has changed?
“Aesthetics matter to me, space really matters to me. North Cross is beautiful and I love that. To be able to come back and see this place so beautiful is really meaningful. There has been an investment made in the students and the programs.”
What does it mean to be Head of School?
“It is the greatest honor of my life. Honestly, I love this place and have such a debt of gratitude to the faculty, to the staff, to the leadership, to the parents.”
What makes you different?
“I’m a listener and a collaborator.”
What makes a good leader?
“Every day there’s something new, something you did not see coming. You have to be able to roll with it, laugh at yourself and laugh and have fun with others. You have to be willing to not always be liked all the time because you have to make tough decisions and not everybody is happy with those. But you have to try to do the right thing and sometimes make the hard decisions. I think being a listener is probably the number one thing, just being able to listen and really get a sense of what’s important. What are people trying to tell you? What’s not being said? You need to be asking questions. So, I think listening is key. There are just so many things, but being a collaborator.”
What is your [long term] goal for North Cross?
“The most important thing is that North Cross endures. I feel so fortunate to have been to school here in the ‘90s. I’m so glad to be back. My children are in the Lower School, but I would want you all to send your children here someday. So, my goal is for (the school) to be always on an upward trajectory, but even more importantly to be sustainable and to endure.”
What are your [short term] goals at NCS?
“One of them is to get to know everybody in the community and really have conversations and listen. I’m trying to be really careful and respectful of what has happened before. So, there’s no one major change. … I’ve been thinking a lot about professional development for the faculty, support for the faculty and just making sure that we’re continuing to invest in our faculty. That’s really top of mind for me. I also think a lot about the programming that you all get to participate in -- it’s pretty awesome. I know that travel is a big part. And if that’s going to be a big part, I’d love for everybody to be able to travel. It’s a real financial commitment to do that. So how could we create a program where anybody who wanted to travel could do that? I am thinking about expanding opportunities for all of you, and really continuing to invest in our teachers. Those are two things that are at the top of my mind.”
Do any of your future plans for North Cross focus on diversity or people of color?
“I hear people refer to North Cross as ‘home’ a lot and I want that for every student, that sense of belonging, that this is a place where you want to be, a place you want to come home to. Those of you who are boarding are here all the time, right? And those who are day students, many of you spend more time here than you do with your families because of sports. So, it is a kind of home, and it’s important to me that everybody who’s here feels that sense of belonging.”
Where did you go shopping when you were a student?
Lemon and her friends would go to Charlottesville or Greensboro to look for more fashion options.