聽likes good things to stay the same. Since聽聽opened its doors 11 years ago, Elizabeth has served as a teacher and the Director of Instruction. In 2015, she stepped into the role as principal. Having worked in the same school since graduating from college, Elizabeth sees stability as being the key to the success of her school.
鈥淚 was born and raised here in Chicago,鈥 Elizabeth says, proudly. She grew up on the South Side and attended Whitney Young for high school. 鈥淚 think about how my trajectory could have been drastically different if I didn鈥檛 receive the education that I did. In my world, education equals freedom.鈥 After attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., Elizabeth joined Teach For America and insisted on coming back to her hometown to teach 鈥 鈥満＝侵辈as my only choice.鈥 She started working at Circle Rock the year the campus opened and has been there ever since.
Elizabeth isn鈥檛 the only person who has stuck with Circle Rock. 鈥淢y team keeps riding with me,鈥 she says. Elizabeth credits high teacher retention to the relationships she鈥檚 built organically over the past 11 years. 鈥淧eople quit principals, not schools. Those relationships are created when it鈥檚 6:30 p.m. and we鈥檙e both still working. I鈥檓 looking at you, and you鈥檙e looking at me, and someone says 鈥榣et鈥檚 go get something to eat鈥 so we go grade papers at TGI Fridays. Those relationships are how you make people stay.鈥 For the third year in a row, staff retention is over 90 percent.
Elizabeth鈥檚 experience is supported by research, too. According to a study done by The聽, 24 out of 25 teachers say the principal is the number one reason they stay in or leave a school. This greatly impacts students, and the overall culture of the school.
The proof? Students also stay at Circle Rock. Of 26 students in the school鈥檚 2017 graduating class, 22 had been there since kindergarten. Elizabeth believes students benefit from teacher stability, and knows that teachers have helped make students successful. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e able to keep the same team for a long period of time, that鈥檚 better than any curriculum you can find. Consistency of human beings and the relationships they develop with children, that鈥檚 what makes the school thrive.鈥
Even after more than a decade with Circle Rock, Elizabeth鈥檚 work isn鈥檛 done. She is focusing on keeping attendance high and improving her students鈥 district-wide test scores. She hopes to continue giving her students the freedom that her own high-quality education afforded to her.