TAMARA LOONEY, STEELE CREEK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Tamara Looney grew up in a small town outside Richmond, Va., where she knew all 32 students in her high school graduating class. Influenced by an amazing fourth grade teacher, she knew she wanted a career in education and headed to Radford University.

"Coming from such a small town and having had all the same friends, going to a big school is scary,” said Looney, the 2024-25 Principal of the Year finalist for Elementary School Performance Area C. “I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in elementary education, and while I did very well, I didn’t feel prepared and ready to be a teacher. In hindsight, I would’ve known you’re never ready to be a teacher, and we tell teachers that all the time.”

Looney stayed to earn a master’s degree in curriculum instruction, then joined Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as a fifth grade teacher at Nathaniel Alexander Elementary School (now Governors’ Village STEM Academy). She moved into leadership with encouragement from her principals at Nathaniel Alexander and University Meadows Elementary School, where she was dean of students during the COVID pandemic. In January 2021, she became assistant principal at Steele Creek Elementary School, a Title I school where about half of the students are multilingual learners. She was named principal there in May 2022.

“I just fell in love with our staff and our students, and couldn't miss the opportunity,” she said. “I just finished my second year as principal here, going into my third, and it has been such an amazing experience and calling in my life. I just feel like every position I've had and everything that’s happened has been for a reason, and I'm just so thankful to end up where I am today.”

Looney said she was shocked to be named a Principal of the Year finalist and was honored to be among principals she respects for their experience and knowledge. But, she said, any praise that comes her way really belongs to her staff.

“None of this would’ve ever happened without them,” Looney said. “When you invest in your people, they will rise to that occasion and exceed every expectation that you have or could even imagine for them. I have the easy job, to lift them up and empower them so that they can do the hard work – educating our students.”

Teacher Hope Schaeffer has worked with Looney in different roles at both Steele Creek and University Meadows. She said Looney can be seen all over the school, attending to even the smallest details and supporting staff in many ways.

“I never felt like I really got an opportunity for growth experiences or leadership as an educator,” Schaeffer said, “but she's just given me so many opportunities to explore different areas of the school, different roles and those leadership opportunities that I didn’t get to experience before. That’s been amazing for me.”

While Looney credits her staff with the wins, she is quick to take responsibility when things don’t go as planned. In her first year as principal, she said fifth graders did well on end-of-grade science testing, but not as well as she had hoped. So last year, the former fifth grade science teacher became the science facilitator, working collaboratively with her team to get better results. Their efforts produced a 30 percentage point increase in science scores from the previous year.

“I think our grade-level proficiency was at 81%, which far exceeds the district average,” she said, “so that was a super proud moment for my team.” 

Looney takes the well-being of her staff seriously and is determined to provide them with the best educational experiences. So far, she’s been able to retain over 95% of her staff members.

“We have many students who need a lot of support, so our retention rate says a lot about our staff and our school,” Looney said. “It’s my responsibility to continue creating an atmosphere and culture where they feel empowered and valued and appreciated, because when they do, they are motivated and fully invested in our school’s goal and vision. I’m committed to being here and being part of that journey with them.”