As principal at Southwest Edgecombe High School, Lauren Lampron ’14MSA, ’19EDD said one of her favorite aspects of the job was the opportunity to serve as a mentor for her assistant principals.
“It was just really cool to be able to make an impact on the journey of other administrators,” Lampron said.
Now, she will be able to mentor up-and-coming school administrators on a broader scale. This October, Lampron will become the new director of the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program, a state-supported, forgivable loan program that prepares future public school leaders. While she will miss being a principal, she is looking forward to preparing even more of them.
“I’m really excited to spend some time looking at ensuring that all teachers who are making significant impacts across the entire state of North Carolina have access to quality principal prep programs,” Lampron said. “And so, just making sure that we are fully saturated, from the coast to the mountains, to make sure that anyone who is interested in a quality rigorous program has access to do that.”
When Lampron decided to move into administration, she was able to earn her Master of School Administration through the College of Education’s educational leadership program. There, she was introduced to mentors who prepared her and her fellow cohort members to become successful school leaders.
“My favorite thing to do is look at LinkedIn and just see all the beautiful opportunities that my co-workers have been afforded to do meaningful work for other kids,” Lampron said. “It’s really beautiful to have this pack of educators that we’re a part of and proud of and really making a difference.”
Lampron would later return to the College of Education to earn her doctoral degree in educational leadership. She said the lessons she learned at NC State have served as crucial preparation for her work as an educational leader.
“In the College of Education, because it’s so discovery-based and inquiry-based, it’s really trying to make a pathway for people who are humble, hungry and smart,” Lampron said. “You don’t need to know all of the answers of the logistics, but you need to have the adaptive skills and the emotional intelligence to bring everyone in the room together, so that we’re making good decisions for kids. One of the things I’m really excited about is doing that good work with people who are already doing good work for kids and harnessing the power of everyone.”
As she steps into her new role, Lampron said she is looking forward to connecting with stakeholders, including members of the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program Commission and directors of principal preparation programs across North Carolina, to support their work and prepare educational leaders.
“In order for teachers to be supported, they need to be supported by great principals,” Lampron said. “I’m super excited to oversee a program that is allowing individuals the same opportunity that I had.”
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