Jenny Moore: Can Working Mothers "Have it All"?

On July 30, 2013, Jenny Moore smiled down at her beautiful baby girl, whose tiny head was barely the size of her mother’s palm. Baby Faera was born prematurely, two months before her expected due date. The mother and daughter laid together, silently, peacefully, in a hospital bed very far from their home of Coronado, Calif. The family had been vacationing in Boston when Moore’s water broke unexpectedly – and now the exhausted yet joyful mother found herself in the intensive-care unit at a Boston hospital.

Moore realized that her plans to assume the role as principal of Coronado High School in August would have to be postponed. Yet, while lying in bed, Moore kept her computer close, as she maintained correspondence with teachers, and offered administrators input about whom to hire.

Jenny Moore, 43, is the mother of three girls – Maizy, 9, Camilla, 7, and Faera, 6 months, – as well as the new principal of Coronado High School. She is the epitome of the concept that women these days are able to “have it all” – juggling their role as a wife and mother with a full-time job.

On Tuesday, March 11, Moore shared her story with an aspiring collegiate journalist, who had returned for spring break to visit the woman who had been her mentor and confidante at CHS. Brunette, with bright eyes and a warm smile, Moore had an aura about her that radiated joy. Her voice was kind, and her words were sincere. Moore passed on profound wisdom to the CHS alumna. Taking a deep breath, she said, “You learn that the whole notion of being a straight-A student in high school is more difficult in the real world, because you can’t get straight A’s in life. When you’re getting an A at your job, you’re probably getting a B in family life. It’s about that give-and-take, and about finding that equilibrium.”

At a time when more moms are taking on the working role that dads typically took on a generation ago, more mothers are feeling the stress of that balancing act. A 2013 report from Pew Research Center finds that 56 percent of working moms with kids under 18 find it difficult to balance both their work and their family responsibilities. A component of the struggle is that there aren’t enough hours in the day. In fact, the study found that 40 percent of working moms “feel like they are always rushed.” Moore admits she has a lot on her plate, and that there are certainly long hours in her administrative role. But she’s used to being busy.

Born in Honolulu and raised in Coronado from fifth grade onward, Moore embraced responsibility and leadership skills from a young age, as the eldest of five kids. She has pushed herself to achieve excellence throughout her life. A 1989 graduate of Coronado High School, Moore thrived in the classroom and on the athletic field. According to an article about Moore from the Coronado Eagle & Journal, “She was class salutatorian, ASB president, and earned athletic letters her junior and senior seasons in cross country and soccer.”

Moore went on to attend Yale University, where she initially was a pre-med major, before switching her degree to History. Her junior year of college, she realized she was interested in pursuing teaching, because she wanted to work with people and foster long-term relationships. “A doctor’s job involves people, but an educator has so many opportunities to instruct and inspire,” she said.

After graduation, Moore worked with the Teach for America Program, before returning to Coronado and landing a teaching job at the local middle school. She worked her way up the ranks, accepting a job at Coronado High School, while simultaneously working toward her administrative credential at University of California, San Diego.

Along the way, Moore fell in love with Jon Rogers, and married him in 2002. A year later, she received her Master’s in teaching. In 2006, Moore had her first baby, and became CHS vice-principal. This was Moore’ first experience with the balancing act that working mothers must perform. “When you only have one child, you can still focus your energy on that one child,” she said.

Imagine Moore’s surprise in 2013 when she – an expectant mother with two children already – was offered a promotion to principal. Moore recalls the tremendous responsibility she felt to help the school she loved, in the midst of change. She asked herself, “Do I want to be the change, or do I want to let the change happen to me?” She decided to take a leap of faith, and accepted the job.

Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Felix said, “Assigning Jenny Moore as principal of Coronado High School is one of the most exciting things I have done at Coronado. Her educational experience and especially her passion for Coronado make her an outstanding choice for the job.”

In her new role, Moore realizes more fully the struggle to devote her time equally to work and to her kids. According to a recent report by the Working Mother Research Institute, 51 percent of working moms feel guilty about not spending enough time with their kids. Moore pointed to the fact that as principal, she takes less work home in the sense of grading papers, but she has to show up to a lot of administrative events. So when her kids want to do activities with her such as movie nights, she has to put work first, which is hard. Yet Moore chooses to view the glass as half full, saying that when she can’t be with her own kids, she still enjoys spending time with the students she loves at CHS.

Dealing with the stress of all her responsibilities, and trying to give her best in every area, has increased her empathy for stressed-out students. “You have to reach out and ask for help. You have to know when to take a step back,” she said. Moore appreciates the support she receives from staff members, and she strives to reciprocate that support to her students.

Moore has certainly inspired the teachers around her, who show adoration and respect for the new principal. Government Teacher Ian Silverman recalls what he admired most about her when he first came to CHS, and she was a fellow teacher. “The mutual love and respect she and her students shared, her ability to relate to students of diverse strengths, backgrounds, and interests, and the way her intellectual prowess allowed for the exploration of many mature topics in her class – all of these are qualities I envied in Jenny,” he said. He continued, “If I can do for my students even a small fraction of what I know Jenny has done and is continuing to do for hers, I will feel very successful as a teacher.”

In her dual-role of high school principal and mother of three young children, Moore focuses on balancing what’s most important to her. She admits, “The notion of having it all is kind of a myth. Or rather, trying to ‘have it all’ comes with sacrifice.” She offered an analogy: it’s like a pie chart. “Sometimes you need to take some wedges out, like exercise, and put others in, like more time with your kids. It really comes down to what pie chart of your life gives you the whole YOU.”