It’s National Principals’ Day, and at Partnership Schools, we have particular cause to be grateful for our eleven principals.
Each of them leads students, parents, and educators toward a vision of academic excellence and powerful community, every day. To lead meaningful academic growth, particularly in a post-pandemic world, is a real accomplishment; to lead a community toward realizing the ideals Christ sets before us is heroic. To do both simultaneously is a wonder to behold, and at each Partnership School, we get to witness principals doing just that, every day.
As a school network, our model is uniquely tied to the vision and leadership of the principals who guide each of our school communities. As Superintendent Kathleen Porter-Magee explains, “Our aim is to ensure that each principal had the support s/he needed to lead effectively. Crucial to our model from the jump, however, was our steadfast belief that we cannot run great schools from the network office. The network team is a support structure; the schools are the engine.” And those engines are fueled and steered by visionary, fearless, innovative educators.
In January, a parent sent one of our principals an email that expresses better than we ever could the impact that our school leadership teams can have and the emotion that can inspire. “I am in tears right now,” the parent said, and then went on to explain that her eighth grader had received a scholarship to the high school of their choice thanks to support from the school leadership. “I really appreciate everything you both have done for me as well as [my] family!! You guys have literally showed us that you are more than just staff at school but our family as well!! I love you guys with every breath of my being…and I will always remain loyal to you all. Every one of my [children] will enter those doors because I know they are safe there it’s home away from home!!!”
So on this Principals’ Day, we honor all that our principals do…
from all the moments where they share the joy of learning:
To the thoughtful consideration they give each student, even on busy days and in tough times:
To all the hours they are fully present to students, from the start of the school day…
… to dismissal:
To the help they provide the youngest and most vulnerable among us…
To the role models they serve as, day in and day out:
To the love and support they provide…
To the instructional excellence they lead:
To the beliefs and values they inculcate:
To the community they cultivate:
And the example they provide to all of us:
We celebrate our Partnership principals, every day. Thank you for all that you do and inspire.
