MANSFIELD — School is out for the summer. But Amy Walker is still studying.
After two years as dean of students at Mansfield Senior High School, Walker is preparing for a new role: principal at Springmill STEM Elementary.
“I’ve got a lot of books at home right now that I’m reading, researching, looking at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce website,” Walker said.
The Mansfield City Schools board of education approved Walker’s promotion during a board meeting last week. She’ll succeed outgoing principal Cara Will.
Will resigned last month to take a job with State Support Team Region 7, an education services agency serving multiple counties.
Springmill is the only school in Richland County with a STEM School Designation from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Designated STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) schools differ from traditional schools. They must meet additional criteria, including the use of curriculum and teaching strategies focused on problem-solving, critical thinking and hands-on, project-based learning.
Schools must also show they have “highly effective teachers and leaders who meet the needs of the whole child” and well-established partnerships with businesses, non-profits and other community organizations.
Walker said she’s excited to learn more about the STEM approach to education. But her top priority is establishing positive relationships with staff and students and taking stock of what teachers believe the school needs to succeed.
“The STEM piece is super, super important to me, but continuing the healthy culture that (Cara Will) already created over there is priority,” she said.
“If we can’t have those healthy relationships and build a positive school culture where staff want to come to work every single day and kids actually want to come to school, the STEM stuff doesn’t matter.”
As the new principal, Walker will also be leading the building into an expansion. The Mansfield City School board voted in April to add seventh grade in 2027 and eighth grade in 2028.
“Cara (Will) is going to help me along with that, because it’s a lot of paperwork and getting the right things together to get that STEM designation,” Walker said. “I’m so excited to bring seventh and eighth grade into it, because that’s where my forte is, as far as teaching goes.”
From English teacher to STEM principal
Walker has worked for Mansfield City Schools for her entire career. She spent most that time in the classroom, even after earning her principal’s license.
She credited the district’s former human resource director, Mark Wilcheck, with convincing her to give administration a try three years ago.
She took a role at Hedges, the district’s alternative placement program, then became Mansfield Senior High School’s dean of students the following year.
While holding both positions, she served as a substitute principal, filling in at buildings around the district.
It was exhausting — but also incredibly rewarding.
“I was able to support more than just my classroom and my students, I was able to support hundreds more,” she said, “and teachers as well.”
Before that, Walker taught English Language Arts, mostly at the middle school level. She was trained as a literacy coach through a collaboration between Mansfield City Schools and the Ohio State University.
But her leadership skills emerged early when she lead a group of teachers to speak with state lawmakers. The group advocated for standardized tests to be administered later in the school year.
At the time, students were taking the tests in February.
“I rallied a bunch of teachers in my building at the time, and we went down to the statehouse and we testified,” she said.
The testing schedule was eventually changed.
In addition to her education career, Walker has served on the Madison Local school board since 2013. She’s currently the board president and a member of the policy committee.
“I’m super passionate about education; I always have been,” she said.
Walker said the biggest thing she wants teachers at Springmill to know is that her door is always open.
“I get a lot of joy in being able to help those teachers who are where I once was, not too long ago,” she said. “I look forward to doing what I can to make (Springmill) a place where they want to come every single day.”
