Sarah Popek has been principal of Myrtle Tate Elementary School for five years. A large, high-poverty preK-5 school, Myrtle Tate serves an increasingly diverse urban population where 98 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals and 44 percent have limited English language proficiency. Understanding the importance of strong and stable leadership in confronting the challenges faced by students at Myrtle Tate, Popek has successfully worked to improve the school’s retention of licensed personnel while drawing on internal talent for effective systems of shared leadership. She has leveraged her development skills to expand the school’s capacity to meet the academic and social needs of its students. In 2014, she secured a $100,000 grant to expand academic programming through the before-school T.I.G.E.R. (Teamwork, Instruction, Growth, Enrichment, and Responsibility) Club. A champion of family engagement, Popek implemented WestEd’s Academic Parent-Teacher Teams and led a coalition of schools to create a partnership with Boys Town Nevada to support student success by providing essential wraparound service to parents and families. Under Popek’s leadership, Myrtle Tate has become a model school for Clark County School District. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Miami University, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction: Technology, and two advanced degrees from Nova Southeastern University — an M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning, with an emphasis on Reading, and an Education Specialist credential in Educational Leadership.