She’s got big shoes to fill. Literally.
Shilpa Dalal headed back to school this year as principal of Horace Mann Elementary. She replaced Robert Sweeney, who was with the school district for 31 years and served as Mann’s principal for 20.
“He’s 6’7. So everyone would joke around that I do have really big shoes to fill,” Dalal said. “I’m here to bring a different pair or a different style.”
Dalal began her career as a special education teacher at Carusi Middle School in 2002. From there, she’s served as assistant principal at Carusi and acting principal at Bret Harte Elementary.
The school district, she said, has provided her with many opportunities. Much of what she’s learned comes from a decade of being in the classroom and serving as an administrator.
But some of her knowledge and ability to relate to the students comes from another experience, one most of her peers don’t have. Dalal grew up in Cherry Hill’s schools, having attended Cooper Elementary School, Beck Middle School and Cherry Hill High School East.
Dalal is enjoying her new role and says she wouldn’t want things any other way.
“It’s nice to give back to the community you lived in,” she said. “I absolutely love my job.”
Her top priority for the school is to continue the dialogue between school administrators, staff and parents, to find out what the needs of its students are.
“We’re a strong, close-knit community here of parents, teachers and students,” Dalal said. “It’s a matter of understanding what this building is and what parents want to see. I don’t believe in setting goals myself. I want to collaboratively set them with others.”
The school is focusing its attention on integrating more technology in the classroom, she said, and keeping everyone involved connected to the process.
Horace Mann is looking to update its website in the near future to keep the community more informed about what’s going on at the school. Teachers are also working to have students use the classroom computers more frequently and to utilize additional technology in the classrooms.
Dalal said a major perk of the job is having the time to get to know the students at Horace Mann. One of her goals this year is to get in touch with what will benefit the school and its students.
She also said she enjoys hearing from female students who value having a woman as their principal and role model.
“My parents came from India. Different things I’ve faced have made me look at things differently,” Dalal said. “It’s nice (for students) to see a very different person in power, a young woman.”
One student has even approached Dalal saying, “I want to be like you in the future.”
For now, Dalal is taking in the positive comments from students and teachers, and channeling them toward progress.
“I’m excited to be here. We have a fabulous faculty who works very well together,” she said.
