Principal: Ms. Jessica Leitzel Phone: 570.348.3692 eMail: willard@scrsd.org

"Enzo's the editor-in-chief," said Jessica Leitzel, principal at Frances Willard. The school had a newspaper a few years back, but it did not last long because of a lack of student interest. But the Wildcat has been going strong for six issues this year thanks to Enzo, who brought up the idea of reviving the monthly paper last fall, Ms. Leitzel said. Once Sadie has counted the year's last quarters, Enzo plans to spend the nearly $300 - plus a matching donation from Ms. Leitzel - to buy pet supplies for the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter. "It's because of him," Ms. Leitzel said.

PRINCIPAL: JESSICA LEITZEL PHONE NUMBER 570-348-3692 4 YEAR OLD PRESCHOOL CLASS 570-348-3697 3 YEAR OLD PRESCHOOL CLASS 570-348-3654

Jessica Leitzel, Principal

Northeast Woman: Jessica Leitzel But, when you enjoy your job as much as Jessica Leitzel does, getting up and heading to school in the morning is hardly a chore. "When I saw the kids on the first day, it was so exciting," she said a couple of days after the Scranton School District reopened after its summer break. Ms. Leitzel has worked on both the elementary and high school levels. While she loves both, with the younger kids "you feel like you're making a difference," that you're setting a good foundation for everything they'll do thereafter, she said. "With the little ones, the growth you see is amazing. You can see education at work here," said Ms. Leitzel, who also serves as a member of the school district's Assessment, Report Card, Safety and Consistency committees. "You really get to see their development. And it's fun." Ms. Leitzel grew up in East Scranton, one of Judy and the late Jim Leitzel's three children. From an early age, she showed signs of a future educator. "She was the first person from her family to graduate from college," Ms. Leitzel said. A few years later, she came back to Scranton to take an English as a Second Language position at McNichols Plaza Elementary School. There, she often found herself helping her Latino students' immigrant parents with real-life tasks like finding an apartment. "They didn't have anyone else to turn to, so they turned to us," said Ms. Leitzel, noting her fluency comes in handy when dealing with Willard's 40 or so Hispanic families. "Because of it, I became much more fluent in the language." "I always find myself being an advocate for welcoming people into the community and not judging," she continued. "Just embracing diversity a little bit more." Ms. Leitzel eventually decided to pursue her master's degree in educational leadership at Marywood University, believing she "could make a difference in a leadership role, to create a culture where all decisions are based on what's best for the kids." After spending a year teaching Spanish at Scranton High School, she was elevated to assistant principal at West Scranton High School. She spent a very happy year there, then applied for the job at Willard. Currently, she's pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership at Wilkes University. There will probably come a day when she'll take a higher administrative position within the district, but for now she's perfectly content. Congratulations, Jessica. The students, faculty and staff of your school are fortunate to have you in a leadership role, as are the members of the community. I wish there were more leaders in education that embodied the same ethics as you. Report Tom-Tom Drummer, 09/14/09 - 5:24AM Way to go Jess!