Maribeth Courtney has served as principal of Evan G. Shortlidge Academy for the last six years, where she has worked diligently to improve instructional practices by prioritizing professional development and building effective leadership in her teachers. In 2014, when EGSA was designated a Priority School, Principal Courtney effectively collaborated with district and state administrators to articulate her school’s needs for improvement. To do so, she engaged building leaders and families in the creation of a Priority School Plan to radically shift instruction to recover academic performance. Her leadership of this process led to the implementation of targeted professional development across staff, the adoption of the PATHS social-emotional curriculum, for which the school is now a model, and the bold choice to undergo an attendance zone consolidation and grade level reconfiguration to hone in on grade-level needs. Throughout this process, Courtney participated in the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE) program, and has since taken steps to scale EGSA’s turnaround success by establishing a partnership with Wilmington University to build a professional development pipeline for pre-service teachers interested in working in high-need schools. Courtney holds a B.S. in Elementary Education with a dual certification in Special Education from the University of Delaware, as well as an M.S. in School Counseling and a certificate in School Administration from Wilmington University.