Her Story
About Crystal
I've been in educational leadership for seven years, with the last three years serving as principal at Stephen C. Foster Elementary, a community campus in the Dallas neighborhood right off of Clover. My journey with Dallas ISD began as an instructional coach specializing in special education and early childhood. I later became the assistant principal for the campus before growing into the principal role. While my expertise spans overall instructional administration, I still hold special education close to my heart and continue to advocate for it very strongly. In my role as principal, I handle a wide range of responsibilities - from meeting the needs of our students and teachers to addressing the demands of our community. My approach is very much about multitasking while always prioritizing the safety of our scholars and staff. Beyond safety, I maintain a strong focus on instruction to ensure we're giving our students the most academic experience they can get. But I also believe in paying attention to who our students are as full scholars, really focusing on their attitude for the day and what needs they may have that go beyond an academic level. I believe that the success of others is my success, and this continues to shape me as a person and leader every year. It's not just about the sustainable systems or the metrics we gain - it's about the relationships we build with our staff, students, and community.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Crystal
01What do you attribute your success to?
I really step into this role, and we are generated through teamwork, and through flexibility, an aligned vision, an aligned mission that we build for the campus, and we get the support of our community. I think that the success of others is my success, and I just feel like that continues to shape me as a person as I lead every year. It's not just about the sustainable systems or the metrics that we gain every year. It's also about just the relationships that we build. I would say the relationships that I've built within our staff and our students and our community is the most notable achievement. Going back to how I value relationships and how relationships continue to play such an important role in my leadership, I always pay attention to people as persons, rather than what it is that they do professionally, or what capacity they're working in. You know, just remembering that they are people - they're not just the teacher, they're not just an assistant, they're people.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think probably the best or the most impactful thing that I've ever been told is to always pay attention to the person rather than the role or the job. Going back to how I value relationships and how relationships continue to play such an important role in my leadership, I think the best advice that I received is just always paying attention to people as persons, rather than what it is that they do professionally, or what capacity they're working in, in the role. You know, just remembering that they are people. They're not just the teacher, they're not just an assistant - they're people. And that's always been something that I kind of go back to and remember.
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