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Profit sharing
Nationally-recognized Carstens prinicipal invests in students through shared leadership
By Eddie B. Allen Jr.
Ask the staff at Hattie M. Carstens Elementary School who’s their leader, and the answer may take some time.
Though she was recently named by the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) as one of seven “transformational leaders across America,” Dr. Theresa Mattison insists that “shared leadership” is what makes her east-side Detroit campus a model of excellence. The only Michigan principal chosen for the honor, Mattison received a scholarship and attended an NAESP banquet and conference in Houston on April 8-11. Having helped improve test scores at Carstens and worked to create a new “culture” of community, she also helped to lead sessions discussing leadership with other principals attending the event.
“Winning that award is wonderful,” she says. “But we [Carsten’s staff and volunteers] won the award. It just happens to have my name on it.”
With support from a $100,000 Skillman Foundation grant, along with workshop opportunities and other resources provided by the Foundation, Mattison says she extended her philosophy of inclusion to students, teachers, support staff and parents.
“We have to make the climate and culture one that keeps everyone involved,” she adds.
