Jefferson administrators Walker, Dean honored by Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals

It’s 8 a.m. on a Wednesday at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, and the gym is filled with students from pre-K through fifth grade.

At the front of the room stands the school’s energetic principal Amber Walker with a microphone in her hand. Walker leads the children in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a daily inspirational message and encourages them to have the “best day ever”, which each student shouts with glee. Meanwhile, assistant principal Roanne Dean roams the room greeting students and getting them excited to start their day.

This is what every morning is like at Jefferson, and is one of many reasons Walker and Dean were selected by the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals (MAESP) as the southeast region’s 2024 Exemplary New Principal and Outstanding Assistant Principal. The two administrators were honored at MAESP’s 2024 Leadership Conference, which took place from Saturday, March 2, through Tuesday, March 5, in Jefferson City.

"The work is very hard, but when you have the relationships we have with our students and staff, it makes it so worth it," Walker said. "Coming in and giving your all, even some days when you think maybe you don’t have any more to give, they fill my cup back up. ... It’s a work of the heart to be a principal at a school, and I don’t think you can be an effective principal if you don’t have a true, authentic love for your students."

The Exemplary New Principal honor is awarded to a MAESP member principal in their second or third year as an elementary or middle school principal. The Outstanding Assistant Principal award is presented to a full-time assistant principal who supports one or more learning communities, and who demonstrates "evidence of outstanding support and contributions to the school community and the potential to contribute to the education profession."

The pair found out they were receiving their respective awards following a particularly challenging work day in December.

“We had no idea we were going to get it," Dean said. "The day we got the phone call was in December, and December is a very exciting month with a lot going on. The actual day was a Friday, and we had a very busy day. Nothing crazy, just a very, very busy day. We got the phone call around 2:30, and we were both overwhelmed with emotions because it was so unexpected, but very much appreciated."

Walker is a Southeast Missouri native who attended Jefferson from third through sixth grade. She graduated from Jackson High School before attending Southeast Missouri State University for her undergraduate degree, William Woods University in Fulton for her master’s and returned to SEMO for her specialist degree. She began her journey as an educator at Blanchard Elementary, where she spent the first seven years of her career. After working at Blanchard, she became an instructional coach at Jefferson for two years before pursuing a role in administration.

After being turned down for multiple administrative roles, Walker spent a year at Franklin Elementary as a student interventionist before returning to Jefferson as the assistant principal. After one year as assistant principal, she was promoted to lead principal, a role she has held for the past three years.

"For anybody that is an aspiring leader, I always tell them ‘Every "no" is purposeful, because you’re going to learn something and you’re going to grow from it,'" Walker said. "Had I gotten a ‘yes’ at a different time, I wouldn’t be where I am right now. I could not think of a better place or a better position, so I’m so thankful for every ‘no’ along the way."

Dean is originally from Fulton, and attended Truman State in Kirksville for her undergraduate degree. After college, she moved to Cape Girardeau with her husband and began teaching music at Franklin Elementary before taking a seven-year hiatus to start a family.

After her hiatus, Dean once again taught music — this time at Blanchard — and eventually became the assistant principal at Jefferson where she’s spent the last three years.

Both Walker and Dean credit Blanchard principal Barbara Kohlfeld for helping them succeed as educators and administrators.

"There are no words to describe what a phenomenal leader and person that she is, and I think that I learned that servant leadership from her," Dean said of Kohlfeld. "I really learned that a leader is not someone who gives directives and tells you what to do. I learned from Barb that being a servant leader is to support others, allow your teachers to grow, allow them to be experts at what they do and just support that."

When asked about what it means to be able to make an impact on so many children in the community, Walker became overwhelmed with emotion.

"You want to think that what you’re doing is impacting others, hopefully for a lifetime. If there’s something they hang on to and, in a moment where they need it, they can pull it out and they have it," Walker said. "But I think it impacts me like just as much if not more. ... Some people have a lifetime of going to work and never feel like they fulfill their purpose, and I found it."