- November 21, 2024
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By: Jason Wheeler
Community Information Specialist, Flagler County School District
No tricks, just treats for a pair of school administrators this Halloween. Flagler Schools Superintendent James Tager announced the district’s Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year Thursday morning, Oct. 31.
LaShakia Moore, principal at Rymfire Elementary School, was tapped as the top school administrator while iFlagler’s Erin Quinn was selected as Assistant Principal of the Year.
“In both LaShakia and Erin, you have two people who consistently reach beyond their school in collaboration,” Tager said.
Moore graduated from Bethune-Cookman University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in exceptional student education and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from St. Leo University in 2017. Of her nearly 15 years in education, 12 of them have been with Flagler Schools. She was a teacher and then a teacher support colleague at Rymfire Elementary before moving to the district’s Teaching and Learning office as a curriculum specialist. A year after that move, Tager chose her to return to Rymfire as the school’s principal.
“For me to be able to be out front, leading alongside such amazing faculty and staff is such an honor,” Moore said after she was announced as the District’s Principal of the Year. “I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to lead such an amazing group of people. It’s almost as if we are a hidden secret so my job is to just expose them to the world and expose the world to the great things happening here at Rymfire Elementary School.”
Tager said of Moore, “Her enthusiasm is infectious. When you sit down and talk with her, you know she has a plan in place and rolling to give every one of her students every opportunity to succeed. She has parents and community leaders buying into her plan so there is no stopping her.”
Quinn has been the assistant principal for iFlagler for nearly four years. iFlagler, now in its tenth year, is a virtual learning environment and a franchise of Florida Virtual School. In Flagler County, students enrolled in iFlagler have access to Flagler Schools teachers whenever additional help is needed.
“During Erin’s tenure as assistant principal of iFlagler, the program has been recognized as the best small district Florida Virtual School franchise in the state two out of the past four years,” Tager said. “That goes to show just how great a leader Erin is. She has been able to assist our students through the very unique challenges of a virtual learning environment, and those students are succeeding.”
Quinn is “one of our own,” a 1997 Flagler Palm Coast High School graduate. She went on to Florida State University where she graduated in 2001 as a communications major. Quinn earned her Master’s from Stetson University in 2016 educational leadership.
“I am just so grateful and honored to be recognized,” said a surprised Quinn. “As a graduate of Flagler County Schools, it’s great to be able to come home and give back to the community and the students and just help our team.”
Diane Dyer, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, as well as serving as iFlagler’s principal, said of Quinn, “In the virtual world, the school never closes, and Erin spends many, many hours at night and on the weekend in communication with parents. She will often reach out to a parent before the conversation becomes a tough one, and is very skilled at getting the parent’s full support.”
Both LaShakia Moore and Erin Quinn will be honored at the District’s Teacher and Employee of the Year Gala, at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at Flagler Auditorium.
