Leadership & Personal Biography
Cally was born into a family of educators. She has felt education was her calling from a young age. Throughout high school, Cally tutored other students and even coached a middle school tennis team for the school. After graduating from Wake Forest University, she moved to inner-city Atlanta to start her career as a high school special education teacher. She worked at a turn-around school through Teach For America. Cally is still so thankful for the mentors and coaches that she had surrounding her during those first two years who helped mold her into a better teacher.
Cally knew that she wanted to give back to the state that had been so formative in her educational experiences. She moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to start as a general education Biology teacher at Knightdale High School. Working with a population of students or at school designated as having higher levels of need is where Cally has felt called to work. She has chosen to work in two Title I turn-around model schools thus far. Cally's journey to leadership started when she saw dichotomies between how her educational experience was, and the experience of some of the students in the building she was teaching. She saw first-hand two buildings where the leaders in the building set the tone and vision for the school, and how it emanated throughout to mold the atmosphere and beliefs accepted about students. Cally chose to pursue her masters in School Administration at North Carolina State University through the Wake Principal Leadership Program. She is fortunate to be receiving an opportunity to be a full-time Principal resident for the 2019-2020 school year at Douglas Creative Arts and Sciences Magnet Elementary School. During this internship, Cally has acted as an assistant principal in the building. She has been tackling student discipline or parental concerns and participating in and leading professional development and professional learning communities with teachers. She has also lead the initiative to bring restorative circles to an area of the building identified as being weaker in relational capacity. Cally hopes to continue her journey in leadership by being a competent and positive force in high-needs schools and providing leadership skills and experiences to help influence the culture, and achievement of students, within such a building. |