School Leadership Profile

To determine the leadership trait that best describes the ideal principal candidate for Springdale Park Elementary School, a meeting was held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, involving staff and the community. The following profile summarizes the leadership characteristics and qualities valued by the school community.

Types/Years of Experience

• Experience as both a teacher and an administrator.
• Several years of experience in education, including classroom teaching and school leadership experience.
• Treats faculty and staff as valued experts and gets out of their way to let them teach
• Prioritize support of the teachers
• Lead with love, which is the current foundation of SPARK.
• Experience with creative programming/use of funds/advocating for their school
• Someone with excellent people skills who prioritizes a standard of excellence along with fostering high morale is required.
• Experience in both Title I and non-Title I schools
• Experience supporting diverse learners, including students in special education, gifted education, and inclusion settings.
• Can continue building on the strong foundation already in place.

Instructional Leadership

• Stick with whatever we were already doing and rely on the teacher’s experience and opinions.
• Strong communication skills, collaboration, organization, and the ability to support and motivate teachers.
• The ability to build positive relationships, support professional growth, and create a safe and inclusive school culture will be important for successfully leading instruction.
• Keep in mind that our autism units, Pre-K program, exceptional education, ESOL, and gifted students are important parts of the instructional program.
• Understands the culture of the school
• Loving, kind, personable, and understanding.
• Intelligence, motivation, hardworking, honest, problem solver, kindness
• Patient & Thoughtful & Fair
• Understand the big picture of how all academic, art, music, physical education, and school standards are connected.
• Trusts teachers to do what's best for their students.
• Recognize the strengths of each teacher and encourage those strengths.
• Continuing the strong relationship with teachers
• Understands that instructional time should be protected to the max extent possible, while also ensuring that our students and community have the experiences that make school a fun place to be.
• Fully supportive of the STEAM initiatives and provide individualized support for teachers.
• Build and maintain a high-performing teaching team by setting clear expectations, coaching and developing staff, providing meaningful feedback, and addressing persistent performance issues when standards are not being met.
• Take time to learn what is working, build trust with staff, and make thoughtful instructional decisions that strengthen the school rather than making changes too quickly.
• Must have been a teacher.
• Continued emphasis on promoting and growing STEAM initiatives
• Pull back from tablets and chrome books, emphasize the importance of reading and writing script.

Discipline Management

• Treat every single child as an individual with a unique set of needs.
• Structured and organized to meet the teachers and staff where they are with confidence and support
• Creating and maintaining a positive school culture with clear expectations for student behavior and accountability.
• Have a discipline plan that is clear and consistent.
• Making sure all kids feel like they can be themselves and are given the best opportunity for success is paramount
• A balance between being loving and understanding with students and also upholding consequences to support behavior in classrooms.
• An understanding of SEL.
• Accountability & consistency for both students and adults. visible in the school
• Has a discipline plan
• Ability to stay calm under pressure
• Strong relationships and empathy are important, but so is maintaining high expectations and holding everyone accountable
• Highly visible throughout the school.
• Someone who leads from the heart. We need someone who understands that life happens.
• Help students learn from mistakes while maintaining accountability.
• The ability to create a positive school culture through restorative practices, social-emotional learning, and clear communication with staff, students, and families.

Leadership Style

• Committed to creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment where all students and staff can thrive.
• Approachable, visible, and genuinely invested in building positive relationships with students, staff, families, and community members.
• Lead with strong communication, consistency, fairness, and transparency - don't shy away from questions, don't be passive with responses, don't avoid tough conversations.
• Culture: do not change it. It is a beloved culture at SPARK, built over many years.
• Comes in with an attitude of "how do I keep this going and give everyone the support and resources they need to continue it?"
• Savvy. Culturally competent.
• Effective communication
• Firm but loving
• Active and visible
• Support for teacher growth and development
• Adaptability and openness to feedback
• Kind, open, engaged, willing to know everyone in the school, and recognize each child for their unique qualities.
• Sets clear expectations
• Familiar with our school environment, community and students
• Protecting teachers by standing strong and remaining student-centered
• Take time to listen, learn, and build relationships with students, staff, families, and community members.
• Strong enough to be firm and stand by their decisions

Community Engagement

• Visible, approachable, and committed to building trust within the school community
• We need someone who recognizes the school is an extension of the community and vice versa.
• Extremely familiar with the SPARK community and families
• Spend time in the classroom so that the students have the opportunity to get to know their leaders.
• Cultural awareness and inclusivity
• Transparency and integrity
• Delegate responsibilities effectively, empower others to lead, and work closely with organizations such as the PTO to strengthen partnerships and increase community involvement
• Understanding of SPARK culture
• Be approachable, visible, and actively involved in the school community.
• Have great energy, care about people, and create spaces for people to connect.
• Understand the importance of maintaining positive relationships with families, neighborhood organizations, local businesses, and community supporters
• A fun-loving personality