Pamela R. Lathrop

High Plain Elementary School
Andover Public Schools
Andover, Massachusetts
lathropp@northandoverpublicschools.com

Pamela Lathrop has served as a teacher and principal for 34 years, with the last 14 as principal of High Plain Elementary School (HPES). Lathrop’s leadership throughout her 14-year tenure embodies a balance between a fierce commitment to student needs and a deep respect for the expertise of the faculty and staff she calls colleagues. Lathrop’s distributive approach to instructional leadership encourages the initiative of staff, acknowledges their capacity to meet established goals, and harnesses resources to support their continual professional growth. Driven by her commitment to equity and positive yet direct communication, Lathrop has shifted a culture of aversion to dispiriting data toward an embrace of every opportunity to steer the school toward higher achievement. She recently introduced dedicated content-focused coaching in math and ELA, which has elevated student engagement, improved outcomes, and strengthened professional collaboration at HPES. She also developed voluntary, peer-to-peer observation opportunities, leveraging administrative capacity to cover class time so that teachers can pursue professional learning within and across grade level teams. Lathrop’s leadership is also inclusive of parents and caregivers; she sees families as partners with an important role to play in student achievement and actively creates a variety of mechanisms for engagement. Lathrop holds a B.S. from Merrimack College, an M.S. from Wheelock College, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Salem State University.