Suzette Wordell

Pocasset Elementary School
Tiverton Public Schools
Tiverton, Rhode Island
swordell@tivertonschools.org

After serving as principal at Fort Barton Elementary School for 20 years, Suzette Wordell stepped up to take the helm at Pocasset Elementary School in July 2020 when strong leadership was needed. Before assuming this role, Wordell held virtual focus groups for families, worked with teachers, and developed a 100-day improvement plan for the school. Wordell has already achieved significant success at this formerly underperforming school, implementing a shared leadership model, leading data-driven instruction, training teachers in implementing strong literacy practices, and creating a welcoming, communicative, and open environment with monthly “Principal Coffee and Convo” sessions and Monday Motivation mornings that provide opportunities to engage with parents at school drop-off. Wordell’s detail-oriented, data-focused approach and careful selection of online intervention programs has already shown results, with students showing 7-38 percent growth in STAR Reading and between 7-36 percent growth in STAR Math. Community and fun are fostered by daily free breakfast and morning music, with students lining up at the entry bell to walk or dance into school as they’re greeted by Wordell and staff. Wordell holds a B.S. in Music Education and an M.Ed. in School Administration from Rhode Island College, an M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Salve Regina University, and is currently enrolled in an Ed.D. program in Education Leadership and Management at Capella University.