It is Principal Appreciation Day and we take this opportunity to recognize the work of our district’s principals—Art Stafford, high school; Cam Stone, middle school; Tracy Carlson, intermediate school; Taryn Trotter, elementary school, and Amanda Davidson, early childhood center.
Principal Appreciation Day serves to highlight the dedication of principals across the state of Illinois.
“We are grateful to have an exceptional team of leaders that put the needs of our students and staff first,” said Unit 1 Superintendent Christopher Spencer.
Principal Appreciation Week [Oct. 20-26] and Appreciation Day were first approved by the Illinois Governor’s Office in 1990 and have since been celebrated annually to acknowledge the leadership of building administrators.
“Whether this is a principal’s very first year, last year, or somewhere in the middle, Illinois is celebrating these leaders for all they do for children. A ‘legacy builders’ we are constantly mentoring others; helping students to find their voice or their career paths, supporting paraprofessionals who want to return to school to become a teacher, and encouraging teachers that are thinking about becoming an administrator. Thank you to all the leaders across Illinois for your unwavering commitment and for building a legacy that will inspire generations to come, ” said Cris Edwards, Illinois Principals Association president and principal of Richland County Elementary School.
Stafford is in his second year as high school principal. He was previously an administrator in Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 where he was assigned as assistant principal of students services at Plainfield North High School.
Stone is in his first year as principal of Coal City Middle School. He was previously employed by Pontiac Community Consolidated School District 429 as principal of Pontiac Junior High School. He was an assistant principal at the school and was a teacher, coach and athletic director at Iroquois West Middle School prior to his time in Pontiac. Stone is a Coaler graduate.
Carlson, is one of five Coaler alumni serving as a building level administrator. She has served as intermediate school principal since 2011. She began her career as a teacher in Lockport D91 and was also a principal at Milne Grove School.
Trotter, also an alumnus of the Coal City School District, was hired in 2018 to serve as assistant principal at the middle school and in 2021 she was named principal of the elementary school. Prior to assuming a position in Coal City, she was the assistant principal at Saratoga School in Morris.
Davidson has been part of the district for 15 years and is in her seventh year as principal at the early childhood center. She also serves the district as its assistant director of special populations.
“These courageous individuals lead their learning organizations with optimism, humility, vision, perseverance and a deep commitment to do what is best for their students,” said Dr. Jason Leahy, IPA Executive Director.
“We appreciate the dedication and commitment of our principals to the district and are grateful for all they do for our students, staff and community,” Spencer said.