National Principals Month Spotlight: Dr. Sandi Harrison of Liberty ES!

October is National Principals Month!  Our Principals are Elevating the Excellence every day in our schools by providing leadership and inspiration.  We’re recognizing one of these amazing leaders each day.  Please join us in thanking them for all they do each day for our students and families, teachers and staff, and communities! #CCSDElevateTheExcellence  #ThankAPrincipal

Liberty Elementary School Principal Dr. Sandi Harrison

Why did you choose to become a Principal?
Being an educator is truly a calling, and I knew from a young age that teaching was what I was meant to do.  After over a decade in the classroom, I found the opportunity to serve as an instructional lead strategist and support fellow educators in their pursuit of creating optimal learning opportunities for their students.  I loved being this resource for educators, but after a couple of years, I knew I wanted to continue to expand the impact I could make based on my love for teaching and learning.  Through the role of an assistant principal and now a principal, I am honored to work with exemplary staff, families, and community members who care deeply about our students, and together we seek to develop collaborative approaches to foster positive and effective learning environments for all students to thrive. 

What inspires you in your work as a Principal?
I am inspired by the amazing community I am blessed to work with each day.  I am inspired by our incredible students who face challenges head-on, who set goals for themselves and work hard to meet them, and who are kind to one another by making peers and adults feel seen and valued.  I am inspired by our stellar staff, who pour their time, energy, and talents into creating inclusive environments where all students are empowered to reach new levels of learning and feel an integral part of their class and school community.  I am inspired by our caring families who partner with us day after day.  Our parents are their children’s first teachers, and I am honored that they trust us with their most precious treasure, their children.  Working together with our families and staff to experience our students reach new levels of success truly sets my soul on fire.  Finally, being able to see community members answering the call to serve alongside us, to further elevate the learning community at Liberty, is inspiring as a principal and resident of Cherokee County.  If you ever need to be encouraged about humanity, visit a school, or better yet, visit Liberty Elementary – the students, staff, families, and community partners will remind you of all the good there is in our world and how our future truly is bright! 

How are you Elevating the Excellence in your school?
As the principal of Liberty Elementary, I am blessed to engage with our remarkable staff in our unified effort for continuous growth and support through our focus on teaching, learning, achievement, and relationships.  Our professional learning communities, councils, committees, clubs, partnerships, teams, and departments are moving learning forward by asking powerful questions and creating the next steps to collaboratively elevate the educational experience for all Liberty Lions and the families that we serve.  As we collectively refine our core beliefs, we are fostering a renewed clarity of our shared path to elevate the excellence for all stakeholders of Liberty Elementary.  It is an exciting time for our Liberty family!