Seth Phillips, longtime PS 8 and MS8 principal has retired at the end of the school year in June. Patricia Peterson, previously assistant principal at PS 8, has been appointed principal of PS8/MS8 in July 2017.
Ms. Peterson lives with her husband and two sons in Carroll Gardens. She studied early childhood education as an undergrad while majoring in English literature, and then went on to earn a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from the Bank Street College of Education.
Working in Brooklyn schools since 1993, Ms. Peterson began her teaching at Packer Collegiate Institute. She then taught at PS 29 in a gifted and talented classroom. It was at this time she was chosen for a teacher-leader administrative program alongside Seth Phillips. Their professional relationship continued when Mr. Phillips became principal at PS 8, and PS 29 was asked to serve as a partner/mentor school.
Ms. Peterson has had a variety of roles within the Department of Education, serving as a school-based math coach, regional gifted and talented/enrichment coordinator, an assistant principal, an instructional specialist, a deputy network leader and most recently as an instructional lead at the Brooklyn North Field Support Center, where she specialized in elementary math.
