Amy Whitten hired as Heron School’s new principal

--- Published on September 11th 2014 ---
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Heron School Principal Amy Whitten

A new principal has been hired for Heron School – a veteran school administrator who lives in the Heron community and has steered a campus through candidacy for the prestigious International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.

Amy Whitten comes to Heron from Caleb Greenwod Elementary School in Sacramento. She begins her new job Oct. 1. Before then, Whitten will hold a campus meet-and-greet for parents, guardians and the Heron community at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25.

“I care about kids, and it is truly my life’s work to lead the schools of excellence our children deserve,” Whitten wrote in applying for post at Heron, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Whitten added that she wants to serve the community she lives in, Natomas, by doing the work that she loves. She is encouraged by the direction Natomas Unified is heading and applauds its Core Belief that staff be “committed, collaborative, caring and exemplary.”

“I’m excited to be part of this District that’s really moving forward and doing great things for kids, and I’m excited to serve my own community,” Whitten said in a brief interview. “It’s something I feel really passionate about.”

Whitten has been a school principal for seven years in the Sacramento City Unified School District. She led Freeport Elementary School for four years, then transferred in 2012 to Caleb Greenwood – K-8 at the time – and has led her current school during its IB candidacy for a Primary Years Programme.

“We’re pleased to bring Amy to Heron, she’s a great fit as a resident of the Heron community, a teacher, and a veteran school principal with experience overseeing both elementary and middle school students,” Superintendent Chris Evans said. “We’re glad to have her.”

Whitten began her career in education as a seventh- and eighth-grade teacher of History and Language Arts in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program at Sam Brannan Middle School in Sacramento.

“I loved teaching; at heart, I will always be a teacher, and to this day my favorite way to support teachers is to model a lesson in their classrooms,” Whitten wrote. “But I also saw that school leadership is a critical component to improving our schools and I, too, wanted to be a principal who could raise a school to its highest potential and become a place where students would thrive both academically and personally.”

Whitten will be supported by Heron’s existing assistant principal, Vera Morris, who has served as interim principal since the school year began.