Gwyn Russell

New Albany Elementary School
New Albany Public Schools
New Albany, Mississippi
grussell@nasd.ms

As principal of New Albany Elementary School (NAES) for the past five years, Gwyn Russell has drawn on her experience as a teacher, coach, and special education director to enact positive academic and cultural change. Her implementation of the school’s “Bulldog Best” PBIS system led to a 50 percent decrease in office referrals in just two years. Behind the scenes, Russell invested heavily in PLC-based relationship-building to support staff in creating the shared language needed to provide students with consistent community-wide expectations. At the same time, Russell led a professional shift into a culture of assessment. Embracing a model of “I do, We do, You do,” NAES teachers now build mini-assessments into all lesson plans to enable immediate, on-the-spot reinforcement or intervention. These combined efforts have not only grown the school’s nurturing environment, but they have helped move the school into A status and recently earned NAES status as a Lighthouse Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. The school continues to expand learning opportunities for its students and is preparing to launch the Discovery Bus, a STEM lab housed in a repurposed school bus featuring 3D printers, STEM workstations, and other tools to facilitate 21st century, project-based learning. A champion of shared leadership, Russell finds that she grows best by mentoring and supporting others. She holds a Master’s degree from Arkansas State University and a B.S. from Blue Mountain College.