BY KARISSA MILLER

N.B. Mills Elementary Principal Sally Schultz is getting to know families and students, greeting each one while she simultaneously monitors the opening of the school.

“My goal is to build relationships with the student, staff and community this first year. That’s the big focus to get the input from all stakeholders so that we can continue to push and grow,” Schultz said.

Schultz, who started her new position in June, is settling into her job as a first-year principal.

“I’m fortunate because I was able to come in with the year-round schedule and see the end of the school year. I was able to use that in planning and it was a really big benefit,” she explained.

With the new school year underway, Schultz and the teachers are celebrating improvements on End of Grade standardized tests that were released earlier this month.

N.B. Mills went from not meeting growth expectations in 2022-2023 to meeting growth expectations for the 2023-2024 school year.

“We met growth for the first time seven years. It can be a challenge, but we are using that as motivation to keep going and pushing forward,” Schultz said.

N.B. Mills fell five points away from boosting their school performance grade to a D.

Her focus is making sure students and teachers at N.B. Mills feel supported and successful.

“I taught at two schools similar to N.B. Mills. I really got to see the teacher perspective. In a school like this — staff doesn’t always get the recognition that they deserve because you don’t always see it in the results,” she explained.

“I also think our students get sold short for what they are capable of. I wanted to be able to help change that narrative for our students and staff here. I think our students deserve the best teachers and staff here. I want to make sure to grow the capacity here,” she added.

The school operates on a Restart model, which gives Schultz flexibility to devote more resources in areas that need the most improvement. N.B. Mills is on a year-round calendar to prevent learning loss over a longer break. They also offer employment flexibility that allows a person to get started becoming a teacher.

Schultz is also using early release days to provide teachers with the opportunity to pick three areas where they want grow and offer professional development on those topics.

As the principal, she uses a “coaching mindset” in trying to help build up students and staff. She uses simple strategies such as complimenting good student behavior when she’s walking through the hallway as a way to strengthen her bond with students.

Previously, Schultz was the assistant principal at Cloverleaf Elementary School for two years. She has 12 years of teaching with half of the years in elementary and half in middle school.

She started in Rowan County as a kindergarten teacher and then moved to fifth grade, which was one her favorite grades to teach. From there, she taught in middle school.

Schultz said that her teaching experience has been in Title I schools, which have at least 75 percent of the student population designated as economically disadvantaged.