Amanda R. Spight

Santa Fe Trail Elementary School
Independence School District
Independence, Missouri
amanda_spight@isdschools.org

In her 12 years as a principal, Amanda Spight has consistently delivered positive results for Missouri families by advancing effective strategies that uphold high academic standards while supporting the development of the whole child. Spight has been particularly impactful in strengthening the foundations of early learning. As principal of the Sunshine Center for four years, she brought the school from failing to passing status in her first year, with the school later achieving a perfect accreditation score during her tenure. At Santa Fe Trail Elementary School, where she has served for three years, Spight has implemented a daily learning block that integrates elementary school students and preschool students. The program has proven effective at supporting social and emotional development and providing an immersive language environment for ELL students, accelerating language acquisition through natural vocabulary development. This innovative strategy is just one layer of a robust schoolwide intervention program that uses data to drive adaptive instruction, yielding measurable improvements in academic performance, attendance, and behavior. By building teacher capacity and prioritizing positive school culture, Spight’s comprehensive approach to school improvement has dramatically reduced behavioral referrals and out-of-school suspensions, while a variety of targeted interventions have yielded one-year gains of 35 percent in ELA and 41 percent in math. Spight holds a Ed.S. from Northwest Missouri State University, a master’s degree from the University of Central Missouri and a bachelor’s degree from Graceland University.