New Principal Hopes to Build Relationships at Harris Elementary

It’s easy for Teri Harding to get excited about education.

“I love to watch the kids learn something new,” she said. “When they come in, they are just so full of wonder and this energy of wanting to learn and grow.”

Her time in education has meant Harding has had to learn a few new things as well. She went back to school after a career as a loan department manager at a credit union just so she could get into the field. Now St. Charles will be learning more about Harding as she assumes her new duties as principal at on Old Muegge Road.

Hired last month, the 43-year-old is due to take over the position July 1 at the school of about 450 students. She will replace Melvin Bishop who headed the facility for seven years and is now moving on to lead the district’s newly reopened .

Jeff Marion, assistant superintendent for human resources for the , said that Harding’s experience as both a teacher and an administrator made her the clear choice for the job though something else also set her apart.

“Probably most important was that during the interview process, she showed great communication skills and seemed to possess great passion for education,” said Marion. “She seemed to really be a go-getter, someone who could step in without missing a beat keep things going at Harris and keep pushing us forward.”

Her current boss would agree. At present, Harding is assistant principal at Boone Elementary in Troy, MO, where Principal Teri Stolle called her an “exceptional” administrator who will be missed at the school.

“She has a genuine love for children and their well-being,” said Stolle in a statement released by e-mail. “Her knowledge and background experience also make her a great instructional leader!  She will do an amazing job as a building principal, and the St. Charles School District will be better for her leadership.”

Harding said she looks forward to diving right into her work at Harris where she said everyone has been very warm and welcoming.

“I see a lot of positive things in the school,” she said. “Dr. Bishop, the current principal has done an excellent job. Everything I’ve heard has been very positive.”

She said her first priority will be to develop a “family relationship” with teachers, staff and students at the school, something she said will nurture a spirit of teamwork.

“I’m a big relationship person,” she said. “I think the relationships you build with the staff, the school and the parents are huge because we’re all there working for the benefit of the kids. I think when you do that, you are really doing the best you can for those kids, not just in academics but for the whole child.”

She also has a strong sense of mission. A mother of two daughters, she originally got into the field as a paraprofessional educator in the Francis Howell School District and found she enjoyed the work. By 2004, she was teaching kindergarten. She’s not shy about what drives her.

“The reason I’m in education is to help children be the best that they can be,” she said. “My passion is literacy. I believe that by empowering children to be literate, we’re helping them to be anything that they want to be in the world. To me, the sky’s the limit with that.”

She also said she feels fortunate to have been able to go back and pursue the additional degrees she needed.

"I feel like working with kids is really more of a calling with me than a career path,” she said. “I was very fortunate to have that opportunity. I always tell people I finally found what I wanted to do when I grow up.”

Though she no longer works in a classroom, she hasn’t forgotten why she loves what she does.

It’s great to watch them learning how to read,” she said. “That was one of the things I just thought was the best part of my job, watching them grow as individuals, from kindergarten until they leave for middle school. Just watching that evolution of them becoming who they are as people I think is really fulfilling.”

Harding and her husband David reside in St. Peters where they have lived since 1996.