Mrs. Mojdeh Harlan

Dear Smithfield Elementary School Families, 

I am honored and humbled to be the principal of Smithfield Elementary School.  To provide some background about me, I want to share a little about myself. I have a Bachelor's degree in Dance Education from UNC-Charlotte and a Master’s degree in School Administration from Gardner Webb University.  I have been in CMS for the entirety of my 23 years in education. I began my career as a teacher at Crestdale Middle School, transitioned to an Assistant Principal at Jay M. Robinson, which led me to serve as the principal at Berewick Elementary school for 10 years. Following my principalship, I moved to HR as a Human Capital Partner for 19 Comprehensive Support Schools (CSI) in CMS and most recently serving as the Manager of Talent Acquisition overseeing the recruitment and hiring for our district.

A little about my background- I was born in Nigeria, West Africa, and am of mixed cultural decent. I moved to Hawaii at the age of three and have lived in California, Charleston, Alabama, Ghana, and North Carolina.  I am the mother of two middle school children, and am happily married. I love to travel, hike, read novels, listen to self-growth and educational podcasts, meditate, try new vegetarian recipes, and spend time with my family and friends. 

I am honored and humbled to be selected to begin my 11th year as the principal of Smithfield Elementary.  I want to share my educational and leadership philosophy.  I believe that students guide all of our decisions and that our work is to provide excellent customer service to the students, parents and the community we are privileged to serve.  I believe that all children can learn at high levels with the right support and in a school that cares for the unique individuals that they are. I believe that Personalized Learning and neuroscience should guide instructional decisions.  I believe in the importance of movement paired with academic rigor. I value the diversity of our children's heritage and their cultural backgrounds as this helps to define their mindsets, beliefs and values. I strongly value parental involvement and believe in a strong partnership between the school and the home to support a student’s needs and growth.  I believe that data must drive instructional decisions and be used to monitor progress towards our goals. I believe in the growth of teachers/staff, their value, cultivating work-life balance, self-care and appreciating the work they do for our children each day. 

I am excited to continue to work with the active and vibrant PTA and SIT, which will continue to support our school’s work and provide parent perspectives and voice in decisions.  I believe in servant leadership, that the principal should engage in all aspects of the work with the school staff and that decisions should be determined by all stakeholders with children and their growth as our focus. I believe students should be supported to take ownership of their learning through choice and data-driven analysis and that we support the needs of the whole child, with a focus on social emotional learning, on academics, personalized learning and standards-based instruction, so that we can meet children where they are to continue to move them in a positive learning trajectory.

As your principal, I am committed to providing the best education possible for each of our students. I believe that every child can succeed in a fun, student-centered, rigorous and accountable learning environment. 

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns at mojdehn.harlan@cms.k12.nc.us or at 980-343-6550. I look forward to connecting and meeting each of you as we continue the excellence at Smithfield Elementary! 

Mojdeh Harlan

Principal