As the New Principal, Anna Sturm Plans to Maintain the Traditions, Excellence of Plainview Elementary School

Leading up to her first week as the new principal of Plainview Elementary School, Anna Sturm did make a few modifications to her new office.

She opened all the blinds to let in the natural light. She also repositioned the desk.

But other than those cosmetic updates, she doesn’t intend to make any wholesale changes.

She is proud of the culture she helped shape at Plainview as the assistant principal working with former principal, Dr. Mark Gonyea, who in October was named the new principal of Thurman Francis Arts Academy.

Sturm served as the first assistant principal of Plainview when it opened three years ago.

“I am not here to change things because I believe in what we built,” Sturm said.

An educator with 15 years’ experience who will soon complete her doctorate, Sturm leads a busy life.

But she is able to juggle her responsibilities and her schedule because her children already attend the school, and her husband, Joey, is fully vested in the cause.

“I could not do this without my husband,” Sturm said. “The first thing he asked me was, ‘Where is my Plainview polo?’ He just wants to show up and support.”

Last week, a few days before officially taking the helm as principal, Sturm sat down for a Q&A interview to talk about her professional history, her partnership with former principal Gonyea, and her plans moving forward.

Question: What’s your background and how did you end up in education?

Answer: I grew up in Antioch and I went to Ezell-Harding for 13 years. So I was a lifer there. Then I came out to Murfreesboro and went to MTSU for undergrad. I have a family of missionaries and nurses and people in service. I grew up always knowing that I wanted to serve other people. A lot of times, people say “I really love kids and so that’s why I became a teacher.” I adore kids, but I actually just love humans, and I wanted to serve. That’s why I chose this path.

Q: Was there a particular reason you focused on elementary?

A: I think just growing up, like I said, in a family of people who were serving, I served in my church, and that was just kind of the age that made sense, you know. I had a younger brother and had a sister with special needs growing up. I was just kind of that caregiver in my household. And so younger kids just lent to that.

Q: What drew you to administration?

A: When I started as instructional coach that really opened up the doors for administration. I love serving the teachers and walking alongside them, and I did that for four years and adored that job. But throughout that process I just realized, I really want to be in a position to just spread out and widen that influence.

Q: Do you have any dislikes for being in administration and education leadership?

A: I love that it’s not scheduled. I know that sounds a little crazy. I make my schedule for the day, I make my to-do list, but I kind of like the on-the-fly thing, the chaos of it. It really doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t mind conflict, I feel confident in (handling) behavior (situations). I love to be in a situation with a child and help them de-escalate. (What don’t I like?) Probably, just the paperwork side of things, the tedious tasks of any job. The things that you have to sit at your desk to do.

Q: It’s safe to say Dr. Gonyea served as a mentor to you in this role. What are some of your key takeaways from that partnership as you move into the principal seat?

A: He is the big picture guy. We always joked that I was the “whoa-tiger.” He’s got his head up in the clouds and thinking of the big things, and I was the “how-are-we-going-to-get-this-done” and the detailed part of it. I think I’m taking away from him that big picture view and the importance of it. He’s also a face-to-face guy, and so when there are situations that might be difficult with a family member or a student or whatever, they’re always in front of our faces. That’s how he handles any kind of conflict or difficult situations. I took a lot away from that because it’s a great skill of his. If somebody’s really upset about something, the immediate response is, “Hey, why don’t you come in and we’ll chat.” That immediately de-escalates the situation.

Q: What’s it like becoming the second principal of our newest school but also during the middle of the first semester?

A: To the first part, it is a true honor. I am so humbled. I’m excited because I was beside Dr. Gonyea the spring before the school opened and so we really got to do this together. He was just amazing in that he allowed me to truly help him make decisions. My input was valued. The things that are here at Plainview — they are very much things that I believe in as well. It wasn’t just his vision — it was a shared vision and mission. I’m really excited to be able to carry that on. And then as far as it being the middle of the year, naturally humans don’t like change so it comes with the normal challenges that change brings. But it’s a huge blessing to be able to step into this having already served as the assistant principal to keep the transition smooth for students, our teachers, our family members and our community. Knowing what they already know.

Q: Are there any changes you want to make or are there things you want to maintain?

A: More so maintain. The mission at Plainview is that “We Educate All,” and it is very important to me. It is something that I value highly, the equity and inclusivity, and it doesn’t just mean for our students. It means for our teachers, for our families and for our community members. It’s something I want to maintain and sustain over time. You know we had great success with our achievement and our growth, and I am so proud of our teachers and our staff. So what I want is to see that sustained over time.

I’m sure things will feel different because I’m not the “otter guy.” That’s OK. I think it’s important that our students have the same experiences they’ve always had, day in and day out with our teachers. That is my goal.

Q: So you bring up a great question. Are you going to continue the tradition of using otter puns?

A: Absolutely, that’s part of who we are. I’m not as creative with it. I sent out my first messenger the other day. I was talking about our fun run and so I did say “Otter-torium.” My daughter named that. When I first got my job, she said, “You’re the otters. I bet you’re going to have an ‘Otter-torium.’” And of course (Dr. Gonyea) got a sign. But I didn’t sign-off (my message) and say “Otterly Awesome.” That’s his tagline.

I will still use (the otter puns), but that’s very much Dr. G. I will not make it go away because that is who we are, and it means a lot to our kids and our community. It’s not just a silly catchphrase to them. It encompasses our mission statement, truly. But I love “Excellence is in Plainview,” so slowly, over time next year that will be the one that stands out.