06/16/2026
To the Fallstaff community:
I took this picture before my first day at Fallstaff in July of 2022. I remember feeling a ball of emotions: excitement, anxiety, hope and some fear of the unknown. I had never been “in charge” of a school before and honestly, I wasn’t quite sure where to start. The one thing I was clear on was that I was thrilled to have the opportunity and I was going to give all that I had to the Fallstaff community. Looking back over the past four years, we have certainly faced our share of challenges and even a few setbacks, but I am proud to say that I kept my word to myself and to Dr. Santelesis, that I would work as hard as I could to make Fallstaff a school that the community trusted and respected. Over the past four years we did just that: increasing overall attendance, reducing chronic absenteeism, increasing early literacy, raising MCAP and MISA scores, increasing enrollment by almost 150 students, expanding after school and extracurricular activities for students, upgrading building security, smartboards in classrooms, increased ELD exits and just this past week, earning Pre-K accreditation with the state of Maryland. The list goes on and on. And I know I have made some missteps along the way too, but I can sleep well at night knowing that I always made decisions with the best interest of Fallstaff students at heart. As I hand the keys over to Principal Shepherd in a few weeks, I know I am handing over the school in a better position that I found it and that around Baltimore, people know about Fallstaff again. Thank you for your trust in me, your support of me and your belief in me. Being the principal of Fallstaff has been the greatest joy of my professional life. Thank you for helping to take Fallstaff from good to great. 🦅
