Meet Inspire Principal Adrienne Singleton

Adrienne Singleton is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear to a parent’s concern at Inspire Charter Academy. And, she has even found that fellow parents go out of their way to affirm confidence in the school. It’s a testament to the community she has helped build as principal, one in which everyone assures each other that Inspire is a place that helps children grow into exemplary members of the community.

“For a parent to support school leadership … means a lot to me,” Singleton said. “It’s things like that that make us come back and do it over again and again. We tell people, ‘It’s not perfect, but we’d rather be here than anywhere else’ because we really feel as though we’re making a difference in the kids, and that trickles into the community.”

Working in education almost didn’t happen for Singleton, who is in her fourth year as principal. She planned to go into law but was encouraged by her mother to first get into the workforce if she wished to continue her education post-master’s degree. Her upbringing among relatives who had decades of experience as teachers proved to influence her once she started at Inspire.

Singleton started out as a substitute for a paraprofessional working with special needs students in 2011. When she saw that teachers repeatedly work with students in pursuit of that “ah-ha” moment, she realized she was here to stay.

“To see them excited because they were getting it, and to see their parents see their kids were able to get it and grow, that’s what brought me into education,” she said.

After a stint at another school, she returned to Inspire in 2013 and has since steadily worked all over the building, teaching kindergarten, first and second grade, and middle school history, as well as an academic specialist.

Singleton says the growth she achieved in that time through feedback from her dean made her want to do the same for others, leading her to become a dean herself and eventually principal.

“I watched myself and other teachers grow,” she said. “When I was a first-grade teacher, I had a dean who would come into the classroom and provide support to new teachers. She was in the classroom all day, but it wasn’t punitive, it wasn’t to judge; it was to get feedback but to also to make certain you were growing and your kids could grow.”

The growth is apparent at Inspire. Singleton makes it her top priority to help others improve, whether it’s students, teachers, or families.

“I’m very big on not becoming complacent or stagnant,” she said. “My No. 1 thing is what can I shift or change to constantly make certain that the needle is always moving for everyone.”

Quick Facts:

• She earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Southern University A&M.

Inspire Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

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