Chandra Sledge Mathias is the Director of School Support at Fulcrum Education Solutions, and a former principal herself. She is working alongside several CPS principals this year and has chosen to shout out principal LaTasha Geverola at Oscar DePriest Elementary School.听

Q: How would you describe your principal?听

She is such a powerhouse. I would like to say that our relationship has blossomed beyond Fulcrum, because when we talk, we always talk about the work, but we also check in with each other鈥攅specially with this pandemic and everything that’s been going on. She is just a very caring person, the type where no matter what your relationship is to her professionally, she’s always gonna check in with you personally, just to make sure you’re okay.

Q: If you could describe your principal in three words, what would they be and why?

I would say, dynamite, caring, and organized. She is a stick of dynamite; like a firecracker just always like pop up, ready to go. Her energy level is incredible, which I think you need as a principal. Next, she鈥檚 caring: like I said before, no matter if you’re a teacher, parent, security officer, support staff like me, or someone from the community, she is going to check in on you, the person first, before she checks in about the work. Lastly, for organized, she has a military background. You can see the influence in her work structures and our meetings. Everything is laid out and organized, which helps her because she has so much on her plate.

Q: What is your favorite memory that you have with your principal?

My favorite memory would probably be right before COVID hit in March. She was sick and out of school for a couple of days, which is not like her. We’ve had so many conversations about taking care of yourself: you can’t pour from an empty cup. But she pushed and pushed and actually got really sick. Thankfully it wasn’t anything severe and she did not have COVID, but she pushed herself to come in.

I came into her office to see her then, and I just started laughing because she had just broken out some ginger ale and saltine crackers. I鈥檓 from the South, and we also use that as a cure for any ailment鈥攕o it was funny to see that she did the exact same thing. So we just laughed about that and she recognized that she needed to take a break and let her body rest. She learned that lesson there right before we went to remote learning.

Q: What, message, if any do you have for your principal this year?听

I would say to her that she is an amazing leader and her school is very lucky to have her. Principals can be the forgotten piece: people will check in on teachers and make sure they’re okay or checking in students. But principals often can be on their own. But I feel like she really brings an energy and level of care that is truly inspiring. And for folks who may think, educators, don’t really care about our kids and are just there to get a check or whatever, she is a leader who shuts that entire idea down.听

Q: Is there anything else that you want to tell us about your principal?

听I would just add that when you see her, you can’t deny her true, genuine love and care for her students, for her staff, for her community. She is the definition of going above and beyond.

Chris Carlson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer at Fulcrum Education Solutions, and a former principal himself. He is working alongside several CPS principals this year and has chosen to shout out principal Anita Hernandez at Franz Peter Schubert Elementary.

Q: How would you describe your principal?

Anita is a phenomenal leader. One thing that stands out to me is that when she can, she really values feedback and opportunities to improve upon her already excellent leadership skills. And so our relationship is one in which I have worked with her directly and helped support her in everything from decision-making, to priority alignment, and to strategizing, working with her instructional leadership team.

Q: If you could describe your principal in three words, what would they be and why?

Reflective, invested and accountable. I already talked about how she鈥檚 reflective, but as for investment, she came to Schubert a few years ago, and it’s a school where she’s trying to highlight the great things that are happening and also rebrand the really strong efforts of her instructional team. I think that she’s been incredibly authentic in her desire to see the school thrive. As for accountability, I tend to find accountability to be a very powerful tool for leadership. Anita is direct and holds herself to a really high bar. And I think that that trickles down to her team and the way that her school works. I really value a leader that will own their own role in a situation.听听

Q: What is your favorite memory that you have with your principal?

I don’t know if there’s like one specific memory. I think the thing that I find really refreshing about her is that inevitably her time with me is about the growth and development of her school. Every time that I interact with her, the three values that I mentioned just ripple through everything that she does. I think the thing that I find most rewarding in working with her is like how refreshed she personally is in her approach and commitment to getting better.听

Q: What, message, if any do you have for your principal this year?听

I think she’s doing an amazing job and staying really true to her priorities, despite the changing environment. It can be easy to overvalue operations in a time like this. And when I say overvalue, depending on what community you’re serving, maybe that exactly is what you need to be doing. But I’ll say that she has not let the logistics of this new learning environment distract her from committing to supporting her teachers and the academics and the student experience at her school. Despite all of the very real, logistical and health challenges that are happening, she still feels an incredible responsibility for Schubert students to learn. And that’s kind of a piece that isn’t discussed as much as I wish it was amidst the decisions.听

听Q: Is there anything else that you want to tell us about your principal?

I know that she’s very grateful for her support team at the school, such as her assistant principal. I also know that Anita is very humble and she’s very grateful for the support team including me. I don’t think that I do a ton, but she does a good job of having trust with people and letting them do some of the lifting鈥攚hich helps her affect some of the bigger picture changes I mentioned. She’ll be embarrassed by any sort of like praise in this way, but also, she would be the first to say that she gets a lot of support and really is grateful for it.

Sarah Hunko is the Senior Director of School Support at Fulcrum Education Solutions, and a former principal herself. She is working alongside several CPS principals this year and has chosen to shout out principal Mellodie Brown at Ludwig Van Beethoven Elementary school.

Q: How would you describe your principal?

Mellodie Brown is an amazing woman and just a force to be reckoned with. She’s an extremely experienced principal, and before coming to Beethoven had been a principal with AUSL and had done some turnaround work.听听

She is an incredible organizational leader and instructional leader. I think she has so much skill in seeing what’s going on in a classroom, being able to quickly diagnose environments and develop teacher support plans. I’ve seen her model instruction one-on-one, I’ve seen her instruct individuals and groups of teachers in coaching meetings, and I鈥檝e seen her delegate and develop other leaders on her team to do the same kind of work.

Q: If you could describe your principal in three words, what would they be and why?

Tenacious, warm and focused. She鈥檚 tenacious because she will stop at nothing and continue to just dig into the work. When she started at Beethoven, it was in a really tough place with lots of turnover of leaders and generational disinvestment in the community and the school. She’s incredibly tenacious in how she fights for what students deserve. She then has a warmth that I think really compliments that tenacious piece. I’ve kind of always felt a connection with her. And I think that comes from her natural relationship building abilities. Lastly, she鈥檚 focused: She will clearly focus on what needs to be done and just keep in touch through it all.

Q: What is your favorite memory with your principal?

Mellodie鈥檚 daughter is in college, and one time she came to the school to surprise her. I love this memory because it was really cool to see the two of them together, but then after they shared a laugh, Mellodie didn鈥檛 skip a beat. She was like: 鈥淵ou need to go home, and I have work to do in classrooms.鈥� It’s such a Mellodie thing to give your daughter a hug, be all excited, jumping up and down, and then say, 鈥淎lright, you got some work and so do I will see you at home.鈥� It was real sweet.

Q: What message, if any, do you have for your principal this year?听

I want to say that I’m continually inspired by her fearlessness and her focus. I also want to say that the school community and everyone she’s had a chance to work with this year are really lucky to have her in their corner. You’re a fighter and we love you and appreciate you. And we’re all better for having you in our lives.

Q: Is there anything else that you want to tell us about your principal?听

I’m really just lucky to know her. I鈥檝e learned a lot from her and hopefully I’ve also provided a kind ear for her and a sounding board. Principals don’t always get a lot of opportunities like that, so I think that鈥檚 a cool thing about our work. Mellodie has really just soaked it up all up to focus on instruction, and we鈥檙e seeing her start to transform her school as a result.

To learn more about #PrincipalPrideChi and Principal Appreciation Month, click听.听

Q: How would you describe your principal?听

Dr. Riskus is very personal. I think when principals are so skilled at what they do, it might feel like it’s hard to reach out to them. But he is very understanding of his staff and the students and families he serves. So that’s what I admire about him.

听Q: If you could describe your principal in three words, what would they be and why?听听

Empathetic, passionate and intelligent. Empathetic because he understands what teachers have on their plates. He not only cares about the work that we do, but also about our personal lives, which I think is a very important skill to have as a leader. Passionate, because I think when you have the passion, it鈥檚 very easy to tell through how you motivate your organization with the right attitude and high energy. Intelligent, because he is an expert at what he does professionally, but he is also excellent at connecting with others and communicating effectively.听

Q: What is your favorite memory with your principal?听听

I was a Teach Plus Policy Fellow last year. We had a presentation at the end of the school year,听 and we were able to invite whomever we wanted. I was presenting about ESL instruction in the classroom and its impact on the state policy level. I know Dr. Riskus was super busy because it was the end of the school year, and also, the presentation was after school. It was kind of him to come and show support. It was through Zoom, and whenever I was speaking, he would type it in the chat, 鈥淕o, Ms. Kim, I’m proud of you!鈥� The fact that he made the time to come to my presentation touched me.

What message, if any, do you have for your principal this year?听

I would tell Dr. Riskus that I respect him a lot. And I’m always confident that he leads the school with care and enthusiasm because our students and families are happy with the principal that we have. And I know for a fact the staff is very content with his ability as a principal. It’s an honor to work with and learn from a person who has so much experience and knowledge.听

Is there anything else that you want to tell us about your principal?

听Dr. Riskus is very conscious of what is happening in our country right now. It is not easy to lead a conversation about racism, but he is not afraid to learn from our students and staff of Color who have more knowledge and experience on this topic. He is an advocate of the anti-racist curriculum and invites the staff and Disney family members to have discussions regarding racial injustice. So far, we had a conversation after Geroge Floyd’s death and Breonna Taylor’s trial. Dr. Riskus accepts the feeling of discomfort and encourages the staff to combat systemic racism and injustice.听

Lastly, in addition, because our school is pretty big, we have three assistant principals; one for each floor of the school. I want to shout out my floor director and assistant principal, Mrs. Anna Trilla! What I cherish about her is that she encourages the teachers to try things that we’ve never done; she supports us to be innovative. She makes meetings fun and engaging. She’s not talking at us, but trying to learn from us too. So I thank her for that and I enjoy working with her. I love her as a person because she has such a beautiful character.

To learn more about #PrincipalPrideChi and Principal Appreciation Month, click听.听听

Becoming principal of Multicultural Arts High School, Maria Amador was tasked with a very important responsibility: rebuilding the school鈥檚 identity.

Multicultural Arts School (MAS) is one of four smaller schools within the Little Village Lawndale High School Campus in the South Lawndale neighborhood, and previously had a reputation as the 鈥渨orst鈥� school on campus. There was a severe lack of pride among the students. When she became principal of MAS, Amador was the school鈥檚 third principal in three years.听

This didn鈥檛 discourage her. 鈥淲hen I take on a challenge, I am committed to it. If the loss of identity was a concern, then we鈥檙e going back to our roots, and we鈥檙e going to find it,鈥� she said.听

Amador began her mission by revisiting and reworking the school鈥檚 founding .听

鈥淚 worked with teachers to develop our five core values as a family and made a hashtag: #MASpride, #MASorgullo. Everyone uses it.鈥�

And with teachers鈥� input, the meaning of MAS pride was established: 鈥淧 is for prepared. R is for respectful. I is imaginative. D is determined. And E is engaged.鈥澨�

Now when you walk the halls of MAS, these words are posted throughout the hallways, reminding students of what it means to be a part of the MAS community.

Amador also tasked her students with the challenge of updating the school logo; the new design was created by a former graduate, capturing the artistic aspect of the school.听

But for Amador, the work is not quite finished. 鈥淲e recently partnered with a marketing company, and they鈥檙e going to revamp our logo a little bit. They鈥檙e also going to create videos with testimonials from students and teachers on what it means to be a MAS student.鈥�

Being proud of where you come from is of great importance to Amador. When her parents immigrated from Mexico to the U.S., they did so to provide a better education for her and her siblings.听

鈥淢y parents always instilled in us the value of education,鈥� Amador explained. 鈥淲e鈥檝e taken advantage of the opportunity they provided for us and have not let them down.鈥�

As a Latina, Amador recognizes the importance of a culturally relevant education in helping students embrace their background and feel a sense of belonging.听

鈥淚 feel like the students in front of my teachers are just like me. They need to see people like them in power to know that they can be successful.鈥�

Amador has been working with her teachers to develop resources for a more culturally relevant curriculum.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just having a Cinco de Mayo or Dia de Los Muertos celebration. It鈥檚 not reading one short snippet from an African American author. Culturally relevant instruction should be embedded in the very culture of our school.鈥�

MAS embraces the diversity students bring to the school and celebrates their individual identities.听

Serving a large population of English as a Second Language (ESL) students who are also Diverse Learners, Amador collaborates with the principals of the other campuses to identify and maximize opportunities for student interests.

鈥淒epending on where students鈥� English proficiency is when they enroll in school, we offer ESL level one, two and three, which are available across campus.听 All of my Diverse Learner teachers have their bilingual endorsement as well.鈥�

Student interest is highly valued at MAS. 鈥淚鈥檝e told my teachers we鈥檙e not just going to consider teacher recommendations for AP classes, we鈥檙e also calling on student interest,鈥� she assured.听

Amador also doesn鈥檛 just want arts to be in the school鈥檚 name but instead embed it in everything. She will be supporting her teachers through utilizing more arts instruction.听

鈥淥ur students are able to participate in the arts through our theater program, which offers a dual-credit opportunity with Truman College, as well as a visual arts program. We also have partnerships with the National Museum of Mexican Art, Lyric Opera House, Steppenwolf and Goodman theatre.鈥澨�

This upcoming school year, she will be hiring a music teacher and 鈥渙ver the course of the school year, teachers will be receiving more training on how to incorporate arts into the curriculum. We don鈥檛 just want these programs to come in through one or two classes.鈥�

Amador is looking forward to seeing all of the seeds that have been planted sprout. She recognizes that rebuilding the school鈥檚 identity will not happen overnight. But with her direction, #MASpride, #MASorgullo will only continue to grow.听听

To learn more about #PrincipalPrideChi and Principal Appreciation Month, click .听