You may have seen Sarah Steffan around The New Century School campus—she’s everywhere in a day!—or even met with her during an admissions encounter. One thing you may not realize, though, is that Mrs. Steffan, formerly Ms. Weiskopf, was once a lower elementary teacher at TNCS!
It’s been a minute since Immersed sat down with her, and a lot has happened in her life since then. She has gotten married, for one, and is also expecting the couple’s first child, a son, due on Valentine’s Day (<3). This catch-up comes none too soon, as Mrs. Steffan will be on maternity leave once her son is born for the remainder of the school year (but back in time for TNCS summer camp).
Big professional changes have likewise transpired. Mrs. Steffan views herself as an integral part of the admissions team, working closely alongside TNCS Head of School Anne Marie Simonetti, with whom she is very close. “We work together in admissions because I am still learning every day.” You may recall that when Ms. Simonetti joined TNCS in 2021, it was as Admissions Director, and Mrs. Steffan benefits from her mentor’s experience. In fact, she notes that while last year felt mostly like training for the role, this year, she’s truly doing the work. Karen Cintron (IT, among many other roles–look for a future blog about all that Ms. Cintron does for TNCS) and Co-Executive Director Jennifer Lawner have also been instrumental in her successful transition to admissions, and she considers the group a cohesive team.
Path to Admissions
Mrs. Steffan’s journey to her current position has been, in her words, “a winding road.” She taught 2nd and 3rd grade at TNCS for approximately 2 1/2 years, but her teaching career spans a decade in total. After college, she went directly into education, spending 3 years in the Czech Republic working at a Montessori school where she fell in love with the philosophy and completed her training (details are here). That foundation now serves her well in admissions, giving her deep understanding of what the school offers families.
However, by her 10th year of teaching, something shifted. “I think that teaching is not for everyone, and I think it takes strength to admit that,” Mrs. Steffan reflects. Her wife, by contrast, is a first-grade teacher who will likely remain in the classroom until retirement. Mrs. Steffan had believed she would follow the same path, but ultimately recognized that teaching was not her calling. The catalyst for change came at the beginning of the 2023 school year when Mrs. Steffan’s mother passed away. She needed time with her family and knew she couldn’t return to the classroom at half capacity. “You have to be 100% for the children every single day in the classroom, and I just had to admit that I wasn’t able to do that,” she explains. Not wanting to leave TNCS, however, she found a way to stay connected to all facets of the TNCS community: she took over the front desk.
After the “dopamine boosts” she derived there, she realized she prefers a more task-oriented environment: “Teaching is not a task that can be completed; in fact, oftentimes things are left unlearned or untaught.” Admissions, by contrast, offers a full cycle of stepwise “to-dos.” At the end, very gratifyingly, a new student has joined TNCS! Mrs. Steffan did not necessarily set out to join the admissions team; instead, Ms. Simonetti serendipitously asked for her assistance on an admissions-related project, and she instantly found her new passion! She describes it as the ideal stepping stone to admissions by acquainting her with all of the many, many customer facing as well as back-end operations a school requires. “I thought to myself like this would be a really great transition to kind of step out of the front desk role in the sense that I knew I was capable of doing more,” she recalls.
The timing for Mrs. Steffan to fully embrace admissions aligned perfectly when Ms. Simonetti moved into the Head of School role, and she’s confident about the future: “I can see being in admissions long-term.”
Multifaceted Role
While admissions forms the core of Mrs. Steffan’s responsibilities, her role extends far beyond it. She continues to help out with administrative responsibilities and is currently training Zanyah Hawkins, the new part-time front desk person. She also continues to handle some of the incidental billing while gradually transferring those responsibilities to TNCS’s new office admin Amini Nkere.
Event planning and communication also fall under her purview. Mrs. Steffan coordinates important dates with families and assists Ms. Simonetti and Preschool Director Terriann Lane in creating school events. All admission and enrollment management flows through Blackbaud, and she plays a crucial role in onboarding new students—reviewing medical paperwork and ensuring all requirements are met.
Her commitment to relationship-building extends to daily operations. “I like to be around for arrival and dismissal just to continue the relationships that I’ve made with families from enrolling their children,” she says. “I like to maintain those family relationships.” She even considers her morning stop sign duty an important part of staying connected.
Admissions Process
Mrs. Steffan describes how families discover TNCS through various channels: Facebook and other social media, magazine advertisements, the TNCS website, word of mouth, and even local foot traffic. When families reach out, they’re directed to submit an inquiry that enters them into the Blackbaud system, creating profiles for both child and parents.
From there, the school contacts them to schedule either a campus visit or Zoom tour. Following the visit, families submit an application that helps TNCS understand the child and family—their educational background, interests, and other relevant information. The depth of information requested varies by the child’s age, with school records and report cards required for students in 2nd through 8th grade but not for younger children.
The student visit comes next, ranging from 15 minutes to a full day depending on age. The teacher who hosts the visit writes a recommendation that goes to the admissions committee, which reviews the complete application and eligibility for enrollment. Once accepted, families receive a contract, and Mrs. Steffan begins the substantial onboarding work.
Supporting Student Visits
During student visits, Mrs. Steffan makes herself strategically available. She schedules no meetings during these times so teachers can call her to the front desk if needed. “I’d love to greet them again just so they see a familiar face when they come in,” she says. She wants teachers to be able to focus solely on interacting with the child, and direct any admissions questions to her. “It’s really an opportunity for the teacher and the child to interact,” she said. Parents observe only preschool visits; for K through 8th grade, they leave their child at TNCS for the full experience.
Open House Success
For families inquiring between August and the start of school, Mrs. Steffan often suggests attending the open house in addition to or instead of an individual campus tour. The most recent event, held on a beautiful late October Saturday (10/25), drew a good number of attendees.
The day began with teachers escorting arriving families to age-appropriate classrooms where they met lead teachers, learned about curriculum, and let their children explore. Meanwhile, Mrs. Steffan circulated among classrooms, making herself available for admissions questions. Everyone later gathered in the gym for Ms. Simonetti’s presentation on core values, community, curriculum, and exciting school events, which Mrs. Steffan carefully observed to prepare to potentially lead it herself next year. A current TNCS 8th-grader performed a Beethoven piece, followed by refreshments and additional classroom visits.
The event generated significant inquiries, many of which are now converting to applications. “It’s really great to see, yes, you’ve done the first step, which has meant that you met us or met someone here who made a great impression, and now you’ve moved on to do the second step,” Mrs. Steffan says. That new student influx is exciting for everyone in the TNCS community and is what keeps us so vital.
Relationships
For Mrs. Steffan, the heart of admissions lies in family relationships—an aspect she always cherished as a teacher. She still maintains contact with families from her teaching days in the Czech Republic and at Greenspring Montessori school. She finds deep satisfaction in building connections from the first tour or online inquiry through enrollment and beyond. Her exceptional memory serves her well in this regard. If a parent mentions working in IT during a tour, she’ll remember to reach out during Computer Science Education Week. “I really love making the relationship first when I meet them for the tour or the online inquiry,” Mrs. Steffan explains. “I really love getting to know them more at every step and then once the child is enrolled, continuing that relationship.”
She gives current and prospective parents and families an important takeaway: bring us your questions. “We are a team,” she says. “You can come to any of us about kind of any concern or question, and we’re happy to help and answer.” She acknowledges this message may not be new, but believes it bears repeating—and she really means it.
We can’t wait to welcome Mrs. Steffan—and growing family, including dog Charlie—back to TNCS this summer!
