LaShondra Rice, Ed.S.

I currently hold an Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) in School Administration from Cambridge College, a Master of Science Degree from Central Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Mississippi University for Women. In addition, I have a Postgraduate Professional License from the Commonwealth of Virginia for Elementary Education PreK-6 and Administration and Supervision (PreK-12). As a classroom teacher for 20 years and a school administrator for 6 years, I had the opportunity to think creatively to develop unconventional solutions that yield success for my students.

Teaching

As a military spouse living and teaching in Panama, Japan, England, and in several states across the country, I have had unique opportunities to educate students in 2nd-6th grades and on the collegiate level. These opportunities have given me a great appreciation for cultural and ethnic diversity. I helped my students develop a sense of ownership in their learning by including their ideas in the development of goals that helped guide their learning journey. I motivated my students by celebrating their achievements with constant reminders that believing in themselves was the first step to achieving excellence. My expectations were high and with the help of my parents, my students always excelled.

Administration

As a previous administrator, I was deeply committed to mentoring and developing teachers to help them reach their full potential and lead their students to excellence. Mentoring parents as they support their children was a key part of our success. With my progressive leadership and successful educational experiences, I desire to make an even greater impact on teachers, parents, and students.

Assistant Principal & Instructional Leader

In my fifth and final year as Assistant Principal and Instructional Leader, the Virginia Board of Education announced our school received the Highest Achievement Award under the board’s Exemplar School Recognition Program. I shared my vision, goals, and how we would meet those goals, and held high expectations. We met our goals!

Principal

Last year as Principal, we achieved what many believed could not happen in 1 year with our Title 1, IBPYP, a low socio-economic school with 65% EL students. We successfully moved our school out of Corrective Action with ESOL in 4 months due to the restructuring of our ESOL department and programs. Our ELL students met the benchmark for WIDA, scoring 59%, up from the previous year’s score of 47% and our Special Education students scored 35% higher on their reading SOLs. Our students loved to come to school, and the absenteeism rate decreased from 36% last year to 12%. I trained my staff on how to effectively communicate with parents, resulting in 100% of my staff communicating with parents (acknowledged by the district at 114%). We received the Status Exemplary Attendance Award in recognition of our outstanding commitment to student learning, parent engagement, community involvement, and creating a culture of success at Prince William County Schools.

In July 2024 at the EEE (Excellence and Equity in Education) Conference for Prince William County Public Schools, my previous school was acknowledged for making the greatest improvements on the Math SOL (Standards of Learning). This was a very proud moment for the teachers and students.

My Expertise & Leadership

As a leader in the education field, my wealth of knowledge and expertise is shifting me to focus on providing support to schools, teachers, parents, and students through services offered through Bridging The Gap Educational Services. If support is not provided to new teachers, international teachers, and teachers who need a shift in their mindsets, we will lose them to other career fields. Parents want the best for their children, but they need support on how to support their students and make the best decisions with accurate information. Children would like to be successful, but it begins with helping them to believe in themselves and providing targeted skill support in all subject areas. Our dedicated leaders who partner with me can help all stakeholders lead our students to excellence by providing a positive pathway to learning.