Palm Valley Academy Principal Jessica Richardson was recently selected as the 2019 St. Johns County Principal of the Year. The county is one of 67 that will go to state for selection of the state teacher’s award.
Richardson, who has been working in the St. Johns County school district for 20 years, was also the county’s top pick for Assistant Principal in 2013. She said she believes this year’s recognition to be due, in part, for her work starting the new school, which has been open for only two years and is already over capacity.
“I think opening a new school is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Richardson said. “The uniqueness of that and the uniqueness of being a part of the largest and fastest growing school district in Florida (may have played a part).”
Recently, Nocatee was named the fifth fastest growing community in the nation. Because of its tremendous growth, the county has already instated plans for another school to be built in a little over a year.
Managing a school growing as fast as Palm Valley Academy might be a challenge, but it’s one Richardson is up for. As a principal, she said her goal is to make each individual child feel welcome.
“There is one of me and there is almost 1,900 of them,” Richardson said. “I'm not going to be able to build personal relationships with everybody. My goal is to remove any barriers that might stand in the way of building those relationships that are going to make an impactful difference in (student’s) lives.”
Richardson said that a principal’s most important job is to empower the school’s staff, which includes about 145 teachers.
“All of our teachers are leaders. All of our school staff are leaders. From part of our maintenance team to our staff in the kitchen. Every day everyone is building relationships,” she said.
Currently, Richardson is working with staff to implement a program she calls, “Capturing Kid’s Hearts.” The program aims at recognizing a child’s emotional needs and ensuring those are met along with their academic goals.
“One of the big pieces of that is making sure that we are greeting people with handshakes and eye contact every day,” Richardson said. “We do positive affirmations every day. We try really hard to build those individual relationships and make kids feel like they are in a safe place. Part of the program is (knowing) you have to capture their hearts before you capture their minds. Nobody is going to feel safe to learn if they don't feel like they can trust you and that you love them.”
