Where did you get your degree(s)?
Educational Administrative and Leadership Certification – Valdosta State University
Ed.S. in Elementary Education – Troy University
M.S. in Elementary Education – Troy University
B.S.Ed. in Middle Grades Education – College of Coastal Georgia
Where have you taught?
I was blessed to begin my career at Altama Elementary School as a grade 03 teacher. While at Altama, I also taught READ 180 and System 44 for grades 03, 04, and 05. Following my time in the classroom at Altama, I transitioned to Golden Isles Elementary School for one year as instructional lead teacher. I then returned back to Altama where I held positions as instructional coach and assistant principal.
When did you first know you wanted to be an educator?
When did you first know you wanted to be an educator?
This is a question I’m asked often. I wanted to be an educator when I was very young. If you ask any of my family, I would play school growing up. I was blessed to matriculate through many outstanding teachers’ classrooms in the Glynn County School System. I admired how they delivered quality instruction to prepare me for future success and how they developed meaningful relationships with me. Their impact on me is something that I still cherish and that has stood the test of time.
What inspired you to become a principal?
One quality of effective educational leaders and administrators is the ability to recognize leadership potential in others. I’ve had the good fortune of working under leaders and administrators who recognized leadership potential in me and then created opportunities for me to grow my leadership capacity. Working in different formal leadership roles – like instructional coach and assistant principal – would not have been possible without the teacher leader opportunities I was provided at the classroom level. Being a principal allows me to broaden my impact so that I can prepare current teacher leaders to become school administrators one day who work tirelessly to improve academic and behavioral outcomes for students. When I think about the magnitude of a principalship in this light, it humbles me because we are instructional and servant leaders at heart.
What is your own vision/mission for the school under your leadership?
My vision is for Sterling Elementary School to prepare all students academically, behaviorally, socially, and emotionally so that they can successfully meet and exceed middle school expectations. This will be accomplished through developing the school’s instructional capacity and collective teacher efficacy through high-quality professional learning communities.
What most impresses you about your students and Glynn County Schools?
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better group of students than we have at Sterling Elementary! What impresses me most about our students here at Sterling is their resiliency, hard work, and determination to surpass the highest of expectations. I’m entering a school with a legacy for excellence, and I hope to build upon and strengthen that.
What impresses me most about Glynn County Schools is the student-centered focus. When decisions are made, the impact on student learning takes precedence over any other consideration. With a strong school-family-community partnership, it is incontrovertibly evident that Glynn County understands the critical importance of investing into our children through a high-quality, rigorous, and responsive holistic education.
What are your expectations for not only your staff and students but yourself as well?
What are your expectations for not only your staff and students but yourself as well?
Student Expectations
• Come to school every single day ready to learn.
• Be kind, courteous, and respectful to all school staff, peers, and self.
• See errors as learning opportunities.
• Be comfortable in saying, “I don’t know or understand this yet! But, I will keep working hard with my teacher until I do.”
Faculty & Staff Expectations
• The district-mandated curricular initiatives and programs will be consistently implemented with integrity in all academic areas with appropriate differentiated support and intervention being provided to support Tier 1 access and mastery.
• Whole-group and small-group instruction will leverage teacher clarity daily via learning targets and success criteria aligned to the Georgia Standards of Excellence for all academic areas.
• Teachers, contributing professionals, administrators, and other staff will collaboratively and consistently analyze student data and work samples in PLCs to inform all aspects of the instructional process.
• Content coordinators, ICs, and SDICs will work in tandem with the administration and faculty to support teachers instructionally, enhance instructional capacity, and close achievement gaps for all students.
• All teachers will establish and maintain a positive, structured, student-centered learning environment where students feel physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe and individual behavioral needs are addressed through tiered interventions.
• Rules, routines, and procedures will be clearly established for all school areas (i.e., classrooms, cafeteria, hallway, restroom, media center, gym, playground, field trips, etc.) and consistently enforced through a system (PBIS) of ongoing review, positive acknowledgement, preventative strategies, appropriate punitive consequences, and student voice.
• The district-mandated curricular initiatives and programs will be consistently implemented with integrity in all academic areas with appropriate differentiated support and intervention being provided to support Tier 1 access and mastery.
• Whole-group and small-group instruction will leverage teacher clarity daily via learning targets and success criteria aligned to the Georgia Standards of Excellence for all academic areas.
• Teachers, contributing professionals, administrators, and other staff will collaboratively and consistently analyze student data and work samples in PLCs to inform all aspects of the instructional process.
• Content coordinators, ICs, and SDICs will work in tandem with the administration and faculty to support teachers instructionally, enhance instructional capacity, and close achievement gaps for all students.
• All teachers will establish and maintain a positive, structured, student-centered learning environment where students feel physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe and individual behavioral needs are addressed through tiered interventions.
• Rules, routines, and procedures will be clearly established for all school areas (i.e., classrooms, cafeteria, hallway, restroom, media center, gym, playground, field trips, etc.) and consistently enforced through a system (PBIS) of ongoing review, positive acknowledgement, preventative strategies, appropriate punitive consequences, and student voice.
Principal Expectations
• Make decisions that are in the best interest of students.
• Be an instructional leader.
• Self-reflect and continuously seek to improve my leadership and professional practices.
• Be clear.
• Be consistent.
• Work hard.
• Make sacrifices for students, faculty, and staff.
• Ask and research when I don’t know the answer.
• Listen to faculty and staff.
• Set high expectations and standards for faculty, staff, and myself.
• Hold faculty, staff, and myself accountable for meeting expectations and standards.
• Provide feedback praising areas of strength and reinforcing effective practices.
• Provide feedback recommending how to strengthen areas of improvement.
• Enforce district mandates, protocols, and procedures.
• Motivate necessary change to move students, faculty, staff, school, and myself forward.
• Make decisions that are in the best interest of students.
• Be an instructional leader.
• Self-reflect and continuously seek to improve my leadership and professional practices.
• Be clear.
• Be consistent.
• Work hard.
• Make sacrifices for students, faculty, and staff.
• Ask and research when I don’t know the answer.
• Listen to faculty and staff.
• Set high expectations and standards for faculty, staff, and myself.
• Hold faculty, staff, and myself accountable for meeting expectations and standards.
• Provide feedback praising areas of strength and reinforcing effective practices.
• Provide feedback recommending how to strengthen areas of improvement.
• Enforce district mandates, protocols, and procedures.
• Motivate necessary change to move students, faculty, staff, school, and myself forward.
What does student success look like for you?
There are so many different measures of student success. Some are qualitative, some are quantitative, and some are a combination. All measures of student success have their role, and I don’t want to underplay the significance of any of them. Notwithstanding all the different iterations, I view student success as the moment when a child believes he or she is capable of meeting, and even exceeding, expectations and never gives up in his or her pursuit towards achieving their goals.
Outside of school, where might students, parents or staff members run into you?
I spend a lot of time working, but when I’m not, you will typically find me with my family or serving in my local church.