"I did not plan on being a principal until I started working for Aspire. My previous picture of a principal was someone who spent all of their time playing the bureaucratic game. However, Aspire truly inspired my goal of going into school leadership…. by showing me how principals can truly be instructional leaders for their school."
- Kat Mathers, Principal, River Oaks Charter School

This year, 12 of Aspire’s 17 principals are "home grown." Nine were promoted to the principalship after having previously been teachers and lead teachers in Aspire schools. Three others became principals for the first time at an Aspire school after demonstrating their leadership potential in other schools. These numbers reflect Aspire’s commitment to identifying and developing talent from within the organization to create a thriving, engaged leadership team.

By identifying, developing and promoting talent within the organization, Aspire increases the odds of fulfilling its mission. Students benefit because “insiders” who understand and can model our instructional practices are able to become powerful instructional leaders very rapidly. School communities benefit because Aspire is able to plan more systematically the succession of leadership based on the talent base already in schools. This results in smoother school openings and smoother leadership transitions. And very importantly, talented educators are more likely to stay when they feel that the organization is seriously committed to their individual growth and development, and has more and faster promotion opportunities.

Laura Mifflin, the new principal at University Charter School, describes her trajectory into her current role, "I never thought I would become a principal. I liked teaching too much. At Aspire, though, I realized that being a principal is really about being an educational leader. I don’t know if I’d want to be a principal anywhere but Aspire. I feel proud to be part of what we are accomplishing as an organization."

Kat Mathers echoes Laura’s thinking, "When I came to River Oaks Charter School, my principal, Ernest Peterson led our staff in having deep discussions around student growth, supported our professional development, and helped secure resources and curriculum that would improve teaching and learning. It helped me a lot in how to be a good leader."

Aspire’s other principals promoted this year include Kevin Taylor, former lead humanities teacher at Oakland’s Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy, who is now principal at Aspire’s new (as-yet-unnamed) secondary school in Stockton, and Gretchen Salvetti, who used to be a lead math teacher at the Benjamin Holt College Preparatory Academy in Stockton and is now at the helm of that school.

Kat, Laura, and a dozen other emerging leaders earned their Administrative Credentials and their Masters Degrees in Educational Administration through Aspire’s in-house program. In partnership with San Jose State University, Aspire developed a tailored course of instruction that specifically prepares interested Aspire teammates to become Aspire principals. The credential and Masters degree are ultimately from San Jose State and the coursework is built around Aspire’s own philosophy that principals are instructional leaders, leaders of a community (Teachers, Staff, Parents and Students) and business executives in charge of their budget, facilities, human resource management, and more.

Given Aspire’s emphasis on promoting terrific educators into leadership, it is no surprise that each of the principals who have moved out of teaching and into their role as principal describes a bit of sadness in leaving the classroom. Among the things they will miss are the intimate connections with a small group of students. Additionally, Kat Mathers says she will miss “Going to bed without my cell phone on. There is nothing like a 2:00 am burglar alarm call!”

Aspire fully expects that this trend of promoting from within will continue, and is proud to nurture so many educational leaders who will undoubtably have noteworthy impact on the students and communities they serve for many years to come.