Dear Amana Community,
It saddens me to share the news that Ms. Najla Abdul-Khaliq will be taking a break from work-life and stepping down from the principal role at Amana Academy, which she has ably held these past two years. She is committed to remaining on the Amana Crew into the fall semester to ensure a smooth transition.
One of our guiding principles of stewardship is responsibility toward community. As such, before we get too far down the road of identifying the principal, we welcome your input on the leadership traits and habits you value the most, so read on for how you can be involved.
During her 6-year tenure at Amana, Ms. Abdul-Khaliq served as a teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal before stepping up when called during a time of great uncertainty—she is the epitome of grace under pressure. Her steady hand and advocacy for the wellbeing of staff and students were instrumental in helping our organization navigate the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining high quality standards. Under her leadership, Amana achieved STEM School recertification through the Georgia Department of Education, grew enrollment by nearly 10%, and continued to serve as a beacon for project-based instruction using the EL Education model. And thanks to her dedicated teachers and staff in partnership with parents, COVID related outbreaks and hindrances to instruction were among the lowest in Fulton County schools, allowing our students an opportunity to maintain high levels of learning and proficiency. Amid the challenges of the last two years, Najla also managed to mentor Ms. Helené Brown as she prepares to take the helm as Principal at Amana Academy West Atlanta, our second campus launching this August at Camp Timber Ridge in Mableton.
I have loved watching Najla grow in her leadership and have learned a lot from her about fairness, evidence-based decision making, and what it means to care about your people. While she will be missed, Ms. Abdul-Khaliq loves Amana Academy and will continue to be connected to our school community. Like so many people coming out of the pandemic, she plans on focusing on her family and intends to stay engaged with the field of education. Please join me in thanking Najla for her time at Amana and wishing her all the best in this next chapter of her life.
What are you looking for in a new school leader?
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Leading a school, especially in these times, is challenging on its own; and leading a STEM-themed expeditionary learning school is an added level of complexity. Having gone through this process in the past, we want to take a slightly different approach to this search. Schools are communities, so we want broader input by inviting people to help shape our selection criteria, leading to a finalist recommendation to our governing board. Here are some key steps we will take in the coming weeks.
- We are forming a selection task force with representation from our governing board, administration, network office, and to include 2 teachers and 2 parents.
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We invite all of you to voice your opinions on the leadership traits you value most by participating in an in-person session next Monday June 27th at 6PM at Amana to inform the selection rubric criteria. The session will be facilitated by Amana Governing Board member Dr. Doannie Tran, Partner at the Center of Innovation in Education. We’ll order pizza, so please click here to RSVP so we know how much food to order.
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Even if you can not make the input session on the 27th, please use this form to share your input.
In all transparency, I recognize the sense of instability people may feel as a result of this announcement, yet I want to reassure you as we have done in the past, our administration is being intentional to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. Consistent with our mission and stewardship values, our intention is to recruit another great school leader who creates the conditions where students and adults engage in purposeful, challenging, and joyful learning.
Sincerely,
