Amanda Grindstaff

Amanda Grindstaff, originally from Washington DC, is a new wellness educator who spent fourteen years working as a gym teacher at the Pierce School before coming to the high school. An outdoor enthusiast, Grindstaff enjoys exercising, spending time with her family and painting.

How did you know you wanted to become a wellness teacher?

My mother is a social worker, so I always liked helping people, and I did it in all different avenues. [Helping] always involved trying to make [people] healthier and happier. That’s when I realized that no matter what the company I worked for or what their goal was, my goal was to really help people become healthier and happier.

How did your experience with wellness as a student impact your decision to teach?

I didn’t learn until later in life about all the ways that we need to take care of ourselves, and I realized the gaps that I missed in my education when I was younger.

What is your favorite thing about the high school so far?

I love the independence that the students have and the sense that they have to own their responsibility.

What are some challenges you’re anticipating switching roles between teaching younger kids and high schoolers?

I’m really making sure that I’m speaking to them at the age that they’re at. I also know that what you guys are going through now is not necessarily what I went through. Learning the students’ lives, what their stresses are and how I can be of help is important to get them to be more successful. It’s really fun to have adult conversations in class as opposed to talking to kids who might not have as much life experience.

What are some strategies that you would share with students about how they can take care of themselves and their health overall?

I really think that being mindful of how you’re feeling every single day and checking in with yourself is an important strategy. Being able to label what’s going on in your internal world is really important because you can’t fix what you don’t know is a problem. Mindset is huge; how you talk to yourself and being compassionate with oneself because every single person struggles with that. We’re our own worst critics.