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Molly Stadalis and her husband Joe were at the St. Mary Parish School Board’s central office when the call came. The voice on the other end of the line said she had been named the 2007 Louisiana Middle School Principal of the Year.
For St. Mary school officials, it came as no surprise.
They say the Region 3 principal prides herself on being an instrumental leader who believes “together, everyone achieves mighty success” at Patterson Junior High School.
The Morgan City resident has been in education for more than 10 years. Stadalis said her sole motivation is the students.
Stadalis’s education career began at Mississippi State University. She later earned her Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s in Education from Nicholls State University.
The State Middle School Principal of the Year has also earned 30-plus additional credits above her master’s degree. She holds certifications as a supervisor and superintendent, and is working on her doctorate at Louisiana State University.
After a three-year stint at M.D. Shannon Elementary in Morgan City, Stadalis joined the PJHS staff as a teacher. For the past six years, she has been principal at the school, supervising nearly 650 students a year.
Principals vying for the Principal of the Year title had to complete a portfolio of professional information including three reflective writing samples and examples of their work as a principal for the regional competition.
At the state contest, the 36-year-old had to give a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation on collaborative and instructional leadership and personalization. The PJHS principal said leadership can be viewed at her school in a variety of ways.
“School improvement and discipline teams meet monthly, teachers regularly meet online through the student/teacher forum ‘Blackboard,’ and schedules have been rearranged so that teachers can meet on a daily basis for job-embedded professional development teaming time.
A group of teachers meets weekly with me to plan, make decisions, and disseminate information to the others,” she said. “These changes can be evident in the professional vocabulary, level of efficacy and actions of the teachers.”
According to Stadalis, the most significant change that has come about at PJHS over the last two years is its pursuit to become accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
“Our initial quality assurance review visit was scheduled for early December. We have been working together to raise the bar for ourselves… to refine our mission and vision, to define our beliefs as a school community, to assess where we are academically and where we need to be, and to seek ways to continuously improve,” the principal explained.
The teachers, administrators, staff members, students, and parents were happy to hear the outcome of their SAC CASI improvement efforts around the same time Stadalis was recognized as state Middle School Principal of the Year.
Although PJHS still has a long way to go to achieve all of its goals, Stadalis said the administration has worked hard to develop several things that personalize the learning environment and daily experiences for our students and teachers.
One of the major deciding factors for state Principal of the Year was involvement with educational organizations, an area in which Stadalis also excells. She is a member of several educational organizations including the Association of Supervisors Curriculum Development (ASCD), the Louisiana Association of School Executives, St. Mary Parish Principal Association, Louisiana Association of Principals and the National Middle School Association.
Outside of school, Stadalis is a mother of three. Her oldest daughter, Hannah, is a freshman at Morgan City High School and her two younger children, Evan and Catherine, are students at Oaklawn Elementary School in St. Mary Parish. Stadalis’ husband is the principal at Oaklawn Elementary School.
Staff Photo by Sophia Ruffin • Tri-Parish Times/ Patterson Junior High School principal Molly Stadalis was named the 2007 Louisiana Middle School Principal of the Year. She is pictured reviewing students’ academic and behavioral progress and lesson plans with teachers.
