Edgeworth Elementary second grader takes over as principal for a day

Ellie Neal got a very early start on a potential career in education.

The Edgeworth Elementary second grader served as principal for a day shortly before the school district’s holiday break.

Dressed in a blazer and other work apparel, the young administrator walked the halls with a radio and handled a variety of activities with the assistance of retiring Principal Carol Sprinker on Dec. 15.

“It was stressing and fun,” Ellie said.

Her big day began with a ride to work by school resource officer Tom Liberty.

She helped greet students and assisted with the morning announcements.

Ellie, 8, met with her new boss, Superintendent Tammy Andreyko, recognized students for being positive and handed out certificates to several classrooms for how they responded to a fire drill among other quality control activities.

“We went around every class and checked in to see how it was going,” Ellie said.

Ellie’s teacher, Gretchen Flowers, said her active student was a great boss.

“She is happy and filled with life and love, and on top of things,” Flowers said. “Always helpful and looks out for everybody; keeps things in line. She’s pretty generous.”

Ellie made an executive decision the day before she served as principal.

Flowers said Ellie attempted to read to the class at the end of the day, but decided to wait till the morning.

“The end of the day is a very interesting time in here, busy time,” Flowers said. “She was being assertive, but knew when to back down, is the best way to put it. Knowing when to say, ‘Let’s do this a different way,’ is very important when you are a leader.”

Sprinker said the day was a nice change of pace from previous years. Prior to the pandemic, Sprinker would become a student for a day to get a better feel for what the young learners were experiencing.

She commended Ellie on her professionalism and spirit.

“Ellie is energetic and excited. And I can tell that this is really meaningful for her,” Sprinker said. “She takes it very seriously, so we’ve had a lot of fun together. Ellie has always been a very kind (and) outgoing student.

“I would say she is advanced with regard to her social skills.”

Shortly before dismissal, Ellie reflected on her day and what she learned as an administrator .

“I love doing a hard job because it actually makes me feel more active,” she said. “I didn’t know it was so hard. I thought it was an easy thing. (What) I thought principals do all day is just do stuff on the computer, but they do much more than that.”

She also talked about the district’s proposed high school in Leet and how she looks forward to going to it.

Ellie plans on becoming a principal or a doctor when she grows up.

Math is her favorite subject. Her older brother, Cameron, an eighth grader, helps with the homework.

The changes she would make as principal would be more recess for her classmates and more tacos at lunch.

Her favorite game as a student is “spelling basketball.” Players have to correctly spell a word to get a point and try to get additional points by throwing objects into a trash can.

Principal for a Day was also pajama day for students and staffers.

Official leadership change

Edgeworth will have new leadership to start the new year.

District student services director Mike Lewis will take over for Sprinker in early January.

Lewis has been with Quaker Valley since 2019 overseeing federal programs, special education and the district’s school psychologists.

He spent nine of his 27 years in education serving as elementary principal in the South Side Area School District.

Sprinker has been Edgeworth Elementary’s principal for eight years. The Duquesne University grad served in the Blackhawk School District for 11 years prior to coming to Quaker Valley.

She said she will miss everyone and everything at the elementary. Her last day is Dec. 31.

“It is one of the most special communities I’ve ever worked in,” Sprinker said. “Every single person believes that teaching and learning is important. They support or mission and our vision, and they want to make this place better every single day.

”The energy here it’s unbeatable. Children are excited about learning. Teachers are excited about teaching. Everyone gets along very well and wants the best for each other.”

What she is most proud of is establishing a positive culture in Edgeworth.

“When you’ve got those positive relationships built, you can work through things that are hard,” Sprinker said. “We’ve worked through a lot of hard things here in this school.

”I think it’s because we all recognize that we have each other’s best interest at heart. I just feel so blessed by everyone that I’ve worked with in administration here at Quaker Valley because of their support.”

She plans on spending time developing a foundation with family members called The Wright Promise. Its purpose and mission statement has not been set.

Sprinker, of Chippewa Township, Beaver County, also serves as a regional support specialist for the PA Principals Association and mentors young administrators.