Principal Jen Conley always knew she wanted to pursue a role in education. Her goal entering college was to become a French teacher. Fortunately for us, she said “au revoir” to that specific role and “bonjour” to a new passion for educational leadership.
“I taught first and sixth grade for six years, and then accepted the position of Dean of Intervention at South Arbor Charter Academy in Ypsilanti.” This role highlighted the importance of building trusted relationships among teachers, parents, students, and the community itself. Jen says her role allowed her to directly coach teachers and also included working with gifted and talented students, and modeling classroom behavior.
She then brought her dean experience to Achieve Charter Academy and was offered the position of principal in 2012. After ten years at Achieve, we are now happy to welcome her to Canton Charter Academy.
As principal here, she is eager to build upon Canton’s reputation as a National Blue Ribbon Award recipient for Student Growth and Proficiency.
“I taught first and sixth grade for six years, and then accepted the position of Dean of Intervention at South Arbor Charter Academy in Ypsilanti.” This role highlighted the importance of building trusted relationships among teachers, parents, students, and the community itself. Jen says her role allowed her to directly coach teachers and also included working with gifted and talented students, and modeling classroom behavior.
She then brought her dean experience to Achieve Charter Academy and was offered the position of principal in 2012. After ten years at Achieve, we are now happy to welcome her to Canton Charter Academy.
As principal here, she is eager to build upon Canton’s reputation as a National Blue Ribbon Award recipient for Student Growth and Proficiency.
She is a strong supporter of learning experiences like the Science Olympiad, school sports, robotics, and extracurricular clubs. She also adds, “Getting involved and building relationships through community service projects promotes our virtues and develops valuable life skills.”
Principal Conley places much of Canton’s academic success on all the people here, “We have an amazing group of staff and educators and parents, all focused on helping our students excel and succeed. I want every student to come to school feeling confident, comfortable, and ready to learn. That becomes possible when they know above all, they are cared for.”
This feeling of being at ease at school is all part of Principal Conley’s focus on student success. She also points out how the Moral Focus virtues play such an important role in day-to-day activities here. She speaks of integrity, wisdom, gratitude and perseverance from a place of deep understanding, and straight from the heart.
“I’m here because I care for these children. I want them to succeed. I want them to feel safe enough to make mistakes. And I want them to know I am on their side.”
Those are words that make a difference for every child…No matter what language you teach.
Did You Know?
A few facts
- She earned her Master’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University and her Administrative Certificate from Central Michigan University.
- She has a 19 year old son and a16 year old daughter.
- She enjoys exercise (she was a competitive swimmer in high school), reading, and spending summers at their lake cottage.
Canton Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Canton, Michigan, 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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