After spending twenty-five years in middle school teaching and administration, Lexie Damous was a little apprehensive to move to elementary education. She need not have worried. This year, Damous was named Putnam County Schools’ Administrator of the Year for her work as principal of Poca Elementary School.
Damous, who began her career in 1978 at George Washington Middle School as a music teacher, has also served as an assistant principal at George Washington Middle, Poca Middle, and Hurricane Middle schools.
A graduate of West Virginia State College and the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies, Damous holds or has held memberships in the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the West Virginia Reading Association, the Juvenile Justice Diversion Program, and the Putnam County Principal’s Association.
A proponent of professional development, Damous constantly seeks to update her own expertise by attending numerous professional development sessions and facilitating others. Besides training in the latest instructional methods and technology, she has completed the West Virginia Institute for 21st Century Leadership and the WVDE Center for Professional Development Reading Academy. At Poca Elementary, she has created a true learning community among her staff, as they have focused extensively on improving teaching and learning. They have expanded such programs to the community, as they also provide educational programs for parents.
Damous’s reflective attitude toward leadership has contributed to her own success and the success of her school. Basing her leadership philosophy on “doing what is best for students,” she has worked to “listen to and empower the entire school community, [while] affirming their successes.”
Listening and responding to students, parents, and community members formed her first year at Poca Elementary. During that year, the school made dramatic improvements that began their ascent to continued Adequate Yearly Progress and WVDE designation as “Best Among Peers,” “Best in Closing the Sub Group Achievement Gap in Reading and Math,” and “Exemplary Status.” State WESTEST scores have risen each year that Damous has led the school. In addition, in 2007, they were named a West Virginia School of Excellence by the West Virginia Department of Education.
Damous attributes part of the school’s success to teamwork and finding peoples’ strengths, “…when strengths can be identified and the members of a staff can be placed in roles where they are likely to succeed, many opportunities for improvement can be found,” she states. As she strives to help teachers build on their strengths and celebrate their successes, Damous is also proactive in preventing problems while treating everyone with respect.
Damous is quick to attribute her own success to her staff and students, but she holds herself to the same high expectations that she has for them. She makes accessibility and visibility a priority and strives to demonstrate patience and professionalism in all situations. “I know others watch me as an example,” she states, so she makes a conscious effort to be a good example at all times. Damous views each day as an opportunity to improve her schools so that “good things will happen in order to give each student a brighter future.”
None of this comes easily. “It takes a lot of time and effort to manage an effective 21st Century learning environment,” she states. “If we provide a curriculum that is rigorous, relevant, and helps students value relationships, students will be prepared for the world in which they will live and work – and it will all be worth it,” she says.
