Moira D. Clark

Moira Clark has twenty-two years of experience as a principal, with six years of service at Maplewood Elementary, where eighty-eight percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals. Many lowincome families at Maplewood struggle daily to meet basic needs, and one quarter of families speak a native language that is not English. According to the Assistant Superintendent for Academics, Clark understands the systems and structures necessary to transform a school into a collaborative learning system. Under her guidance, Maplewood moved from a Priority School with a state letter grade of “F” in 2013-14 to a state letter grade of “A” the following year. Much of this success is rooted in Clark’s establishment of a school environment reflecting high expectations for all students. In the words of Cheri Day, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education, “Maplewood moved from a ‘we did what we could for these kids’ to a ‘what else can we provide for greater success?’ environment.” As a result, Maplewood received a National Title 1 Distinguished School Award for closing the achievement gap, and Clark and her team will be presenting at future Title 1 conferences to share their strategies for improving student achievement. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Education from the University of Illinois and an M.Ed in Administration from Indiana State University