Dr. Sarah Mitchell
School Principal
CONTACT
s.mitchell@westfield.edu
+1 (617) 555-8241
Westfield, Massachusetts
linkedin.com/in/drsmitchell
EDUCATION
Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
University of Pennsylvania
2012 – 2016
M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction
Boston College
2005 – 2007
B.A. in English Literature
Amherst College
2000 – 2004
CERTIFICATIONS
Massachusetts Superintendent License
Principal/Assistant Principal (9–12)
National Board Certification — ELA
Restorative Practices Facilitator
CORE COMPETENCIES
Strategic Planning
Instructional Leadership
Staff Development
Budget Management
Data-Driven Decision Making
Community Engagement
Equity & Inclusion
Curriculum Design
Crisis Management
Accreditation
LANGUAGES
English
Native
Spanish
Professional working
American Sign Language
Conversational
Dr. Sarah Mitchell
School Principal
Transformational instructional leader with 18 years advancing student achievement, building
inclusive school cultures, and leading high-performing teams across urban and suburban
secondary schools.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
School Principal
, Westfield High School
2018 – Present
Westfield Public Schools, MA
Associate Principal of Academics
, Brighton Academy
2014 – 2018
Boston, MA
Dean of Students
, Cambridge Rindge & Latin School
2010 – 2014
Cambridge, MA
English Teacher & Department Chair
, Somerville High School
2004 – 2010
Somerville, MA
Led a comprehensive school turnaround initiative that increased the four-year graduation
rate from 81% to 93% over five academic years, with the largest gains among English
learner and economically disadvantaged student groups.
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Implemented a school-wide instructional framework grounded in Universal Design for
Learning, resulting in a 17-percentage-point increase in students meeting or exceeding
expectations on statewide ELA and math assessments.
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Developed and managed a $14.5 million annual budget, reallocating resources to expand
counseling services, reduce class sizes in core subjects, and fund a new career pathways
program serving 400+ students annually.
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Recruited, hired, and mentored 38 new faculty members while designing a teacher
leadership pipeline that reduced annual turnover from 22% to 9% within three years.
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Established a school-wide restorative practices program that decreased out-of-school
suspensions by 61% and improved student-reported sense of belonging on annual climate
surveys by 34%.
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Oversaw all academic programming for a 1,200-student urban charter school including
curriculum development, assessment design, and teacher evaluation across 12
departments.
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Led the adoption of a standards-referenced grading system, replacing traditional letter
grades with competency-based reporting that improved transparency and reduced grade
inflation; 94% of families reported improved understanding of student progress.
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Designed and launched a school-wide professional learning community (PLC) structure that
increased the frequency of data-informed instruction; teacher teams met weekly and student
performance on interim assessments improved by an average of 12% per year.
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Coordinated the school's NEASC accreditation process, securing full accreditation with
commendations in curriculum, instruction, and school culture.
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Managed student discipline, attendance, and social-emotional support systems for a diverse
urban high school of 1,800 students representing 70+ home languages.
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Redesigned the school's student code of conduct in collaboration with students, families,
and community organizations, shifting from punitive discipline to a tiered system of
intervention and support.
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Launched a peer mediation program that trained 45 student mediators and resolved 78% of
referred conflicts without administrative intervention in the first year of operation.
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Collaborated with district leadership to secure a $450,000 federal grant to expand mental
health services, hiring three additional school counselors and a social worker.
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Taught grades 9–12 English language arts, including AP Literature, creative writing, and
sheltered English immersion sections for multilingual learners.
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Served as department chair for a team of 14 English teachers, facilitating curriculum
mapping, common assessment development, and intervisitation cycles that raised
department-wide pass rates from 76% to 88%.
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LEADERSHIP & SERVICE
Board Member
, Massachusetts Association of Secondary School Principals
2021 – Present
Serve on the advocacy committee, advising on state-level policy affecting school leadership,
equitable funding, and educator preparation standards.
Adjunct Instructor
, University of Massachusetts Amherst
2019 – Present
Teach graduate courses in school leadership, instructional supervision, and data-informed
decision making in the College of Education's principal preparation program.
Leadership Coach
, The New Teacher Project (TNTP)
2016 – 2020
Coached 18 early-career principals and assistant principals in urban districts across
Massachusetts and Rhode Island, focusing on instructional leadership, team building, and
school culture transformation.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Mitchell, S. (2024). Leading for equity: Five strategies for dismantling opportunity gaps in
secondary schools. Journal of School Leadership, 34(2), 112–138.
Mitchell, S. & Reyes, J. (2022). Restorative practices in action: A case study of systemic
culture change at Westfield High School. NASSP Bulletin, 106(3), 201–225.
Mitchell, S. (2023, March). From data to practice: Using early warning indicators to improve
graduation rates. Invited keynote, Massachusetts School Administrators Conference,
Worcester, MA.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) — Member since 2010
Massachusetts Association of School Principals (MASP) — Executive Board 2021–Present
ASCD — Member since 2006
Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color (COSEBOC) — Leadership Circle 2019–
Present
REFERENCES
References available upon request. Professional portfolio and full credential documentation
provided during interview process.
Developed a school-wide writing across the curriculum initiative in partnership with the
University of Massachusetts Boston Writing Project, providing professional development to
60+ faculty members.
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