Schools
15-Year Fla. Teacher Takes on Providence Asst. Principal Role
Roxanne Salata has her work cut out for her this school year.
It's been a whirlwind of a first month in her new role as assistant principal at Providence Elementary School. But Roxanne Salata has enjoyed every minute of it.
"There are over 900 students in this school," she said. "My biggest challenge is going to be meeting all these families as soon as I would like."
Salata was plucked from a pool of about 90 applicants, said Principal Jesse Kraft.
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"Roxanne stuck out for a number of reasons," he said. "Kids are her first priority. Sometimes administrators zero in on adult relationships. But she had a way of bringing it back to the kids."
Providence Elementary serves students in kindergarten through sixth-grade. It has one pre-school program. Salata joins Kraft and another assistant principal, Patti Brown, in overseeing 85 school employees, including 38 classroom teachers.
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She began her career in education 15 years ago when she took a position teaching math, science and physical education in a small, private school in Miami Dade County, Fla. From there, she moved to Miami Dade Public Schools, where she taught physical education. She relocated to Northern Virginia a little more than a year ago to take an administrator position at Eagle View Elementary, also in Fairfax.
She said she applied for the job at Providence because "I heard such wonderful things about the staff."
"The teachers here are all well above average," Salata said. "I wanted to go to a school that didn't settle for just OK."
Kraft said Salata has a lot of work ahead of her.
"We're a school with a lot going on," he said, adding the school offers special programs in foreign language skills, math, science and technology, and educational intervention.
Her biggest challenge will be building on the relationships already in place and keeping the school culture on a positive upswing.
"It really comes down to having a relationship with kids, staff and community," Kraft said.
Salata said those relationships are her favorite part of the job.
"After visiting all of the classrooms during the first two days of school, I can clearly see that the students here at Providence are caring and special," Salata said. "I am thrilled to be a part of this community and to watch all of the children grow this year."
