Middle School Principal
c/o American School of The Hague
200 Rijkstraatweg
2241 BX Wassenaar, The Netherlands
Email: mrussman@ash.nl; mary@maryrussman.com
Skype: maryerussman
Twitter: @MaryRussman
LinkedIn: mary-russman
Summary
- 15 years of administrative experience including recruiting, curriculum, finance
- Experience in strengthening school culture/ community to support student pursuit of personal excellence
Administrative Experience
Middle School Principal- The American School of The Hague,
The Netherlands ‘03-present
- Supervised 58 full and part time faculty and staff for 350+ students
- Created 1 to 1 Laptop program for grades 6-8 and use of IT as a teaching environment
- Increased Learning Support (LSC) Program, LSC staff and LSC professional development
- Integrated Service Learning into the curriculum
- Doubled advisory time, included all staff as advisors and documented advisory curriculum and activities used
- Updated and documented curriculum in conjunction with Director of Curriculum
- Implemented Color House program to provide for cross grade level activities
- Focused on positive school culture using the school’s Core Values
- Supervised decentralized budget and annual ordering process
- Assisted with recruiting and transition/retention of faculty and staff
- Board Finance and Facility Committees member (2003-present)
Trainer- Essential Skills for the International School Counselor- Summers ‘07-present
Principal Training Center/Counselor Training Center Florida U.S A. and London U.K.
- Wrote course content and standards, created course materials, facilitate the course, assessed course work for graduate credit
Co Trainer- Curriculum and Resource Management- Summer 2006
Principal Training Center London U.K.
Secondary School Principal – Harare International School- Harare, Zimbabwe -1998-2003
- Initiated the position and all of the procedures and protocols entailed for both the position and a new high school
- Implemented IB DP
- Spearheaded school wide Service Learning initiatives such as Habitat for Humanity involvement, and Adopt an Orphanage
- Created Rotating Block Schedule and Master Schedule every year
- Led evaluation of curriculum and student assessment in three- year cycles
- Supervised decentralized budget and annual ordering process
- Brought in Advisory program and tutorial time
- Assisted recruiting and transition/retention of faculty and staff
- Board Finance, Facility and Policy Committees member
Middle School Principal – Escuelas Lincoln- Buenos Aires, Argentina 1997-1999
- Unification of Castellano and English programs
- Designed and implemented Advisory and Extension project programs
- Created and implemented rotating schedule
- Lengthened school day to align with high school and to include tutorial time for students
- Formed a Parent Advisory Committee and held monthly topical parent coffees
- Introduced “stress busting” activities for teachers and students
- Instituted annual evaluation cycle/assessment process for faculty
- Assisted recruiting and transition/retention of faculty and staff
Director of student Services/K-12 Counseling- 1994-1997
- Lincoln School Kathmandu, Nepal
Secondary School Counselor- 1992-1994
- American International School Dhaka, Bangladesh
Admissions Officer- 1991-1992
- TASIS School U.S. Office New York City, New York USA
University Counselor / Adult Education Teacher 1989-1991
- University of LaVerne- N.A.T.O. Base Napoli, Italy
Dean of Students/College Counselor/ Teacher- 1983-1989
- TASIS Hellenic Athens, Greece
Head of Boarding & Residence/ Teacher Summers- 1983, 1984
- TASIS England Thorpe, Surrey, England
Awards/Commendations
- National Distinguished Principal Award, October 2008
- Test Laundress Award, College Board, 1996
- Yearbook Dedications 1988, 1996, 2004
Consultancies/Workshops Facilitated
- Transitions Programs work day- American Community Schools, Cobham England January 2012 (consultancy)
- Dealing with Anxiety in our Schools – London Association of International Schools Counselors, January 2012 (consultancy)
- “International Schools: We Are More Alike Than You Think!”- Innovation, Creativity and Cooperation Symposium- Ministry of Education, Serbia November 2011 (consultancy)
- Recruiting Tips- European League of Middle Level Educators in Paris, Prague, Budapest, Amsterdam, Zurich- 2008- 2012
- Assessing Student Learning- Series of workshops for staff and local teachers- Harare, Zimbabwe 2002-2003
- Disposition Outcomes- AISA Conference- Johannesburg, S.A. 2002
- Writing the College Essay- AISA Conference- Harare, Zimbabwe 1999
- AIDS Awareness: What Are You Doing About IT? - workshop- N.E.A.S.A. conference- Colombo,
Sri Lanka 1994
Memberships/Professional Development
Memberships: ELMLE, ASCD, NASSP, NACAC, OACAC,
Professional Development: Co Chair MSA/CIS Accreditation team visit April 2012, team member MSA/CIS Accreditation visit 2011, ELMLE conferences, European Laptop Institute, ECIS conferences, AISA conferences, AASA conferences, NESA conferences, College Board Summer Institutes, PTC courses
Education/Certification
Principal Training Center Certification- 2003
Masters in Education: Special Emphasis- Counseling 1992
University of LaVerne Athens, Greece and Los Angeles U.S.A. campuses
Bachelors of Secondary Education- 1981
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan U.S.A.
References available on request
