Meet Principal of the Year Christine Sandy

Principal Christine Sandy, left, works with Abigail Tierney, 9, center, and Tristan Ledesma, 10, right, two students in Christine Morton’s fourth grade classroom, at Oakcrest Elementary as Huffman, looks on a top left at Oakcrest Elementary School in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. Principal Christine Sandy and Assistant Principal Sarah Dobbs at Oakcrest were recently chosen as the Marion County Administrators of the Year. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted December 17, 2021 | By Rosemarie Dowell
Correspondent

When Oakcrest Elementary School Principal Christine, “Chris,” Sandy started her career as an educator in Michigan 50 years ago, teachers were in short supply.

Some things never change.

“When I started teaching, we needed educators just as badly as we do today,” said Sandy, who was recently honored as Marion County Public Schools’ Principal of the Year. “Teachers were as hard to find then as they are now.”

Sandy has been at the helm of the low-performing Oakcrest since June after serving in the same role from 2002-2005. Oakcrest which has a student body of 450 mostly-minority, economically disadvantaged students, has been an underperforming school for years with consistent “D,” ratings, garnering attention from the state.

However, the school is making strides under Sandy’s leadership, as well as Assistant Principal Sarah Dobb’s, who was named Assistant Principal of the Year, receiving a well-earned “C,” rating this summer.

“We are in the process of making the turn,” said Sandy. “We are still under the watchful eye of the state though because they have an expectation of what they want for students.”

“They want to make sure we are doing everything we can so that our kids can be successful,” she said.

The well-seasoned educator spent the first ten years of her teaching career in Michigan but moved with her family to the Ocala area around 1980 when the nation’s economy was struggling.

Sandy, now a 40-year veteran of the Marion school district, landed at North Marion Middle School first, armed with a fresh master’s degree in reading from Michigan State University.

“The principal snatched me up because at the time reading teachers was a relatively new field,” said Sandy, a native of Flint.

Her teaching stints also included Ward-Highlands Elementary School and Fort McCoy School, where she won the Teacher of the Year in 1990. She then started on an administrative career path that included assistant and principal positions throughout the district.

Later, Sandy became the district’s executive director of elementary education for several years before retiring in 2012. In 2016, Sandy came out of retirement to serve on assignment under former school superintendent Heidi Maier, the county’s last elected school superintendent.

In November of 2018, Sandy was asked to take over the principal position at Reddick-Collier Elementary School, which had a, “F,” rating at the time, warranting a spot on Florida’s school intervention list.

Sandy quickly led the school to a C grade, and away from the eyes of the state.

“At Reddick, we made such a quick turnaround the state-backed off some,” she said. Superintendent of Schools Diane Gullett, who was appointed by the school board in 2020. now oversees the school district.

Oakcrest is a little more daunting since so many parents of students have challenges of their own, said Sandy.

“Their focus rolls from one thing to the next and we need to get them into thinking that success in schools is a top priority,” said Sandy, a mother of four adult children and five grandchildren. “It’s a case of seeing the value of education and working magic to get there.”

“At Reddick, I proved kids could be successful,” she said. “I enjoy the challenge of doing what I can to make a difference.”

At Oakcrest, the theme for this year is, Dream, Believe and Achieve, she added.

“I dream big, I believe big,” said Sandy. “My goal now is to help students achieve big.”

As for working with Dobbs, Sandy said it is a joy.

“She is a consummate educator and would move heaven and earth to enable our students and teachers at Oakcrest to be successful.”

Sandy said she’s not sure how much longer she’ll continue to work before retiring again.

“I could go home today and be done,” she said. “I know where my keys are.”