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When Jane Burke was named principal in 1989 of Hertford County High School — a high-minority, high-poverty school with close to 1,600 students — the local gas station had a bet going that she wouldn’t last more than two weeks

“That little lady can’t control that school,” she remembers hearing later.

Luckily no one told the 5-foot-3-inch Burke about the bet until the end of the school year. She went on to serve four years as Hertford’s principal and was named North Carolina’s Principal of the Year in 1992 before being named superintendent of the district.

Today, Burke serves as a leadership coach with North Carolina New Schools, working with principals across the state. She carries with her four decades of experience in education innovation to best meet the needs of all students.

“As a principal, it is critical that you understand instruction and that you can talk with your teachers about instruction,” said Burke, a leadership coach for the last seven years, “My philosophy as a principal and superintendent aligned from the beginning with what NC New Schools expects around innovative instruction, leadership and personalization,” she said. “When I first looked at the Design Principles, it was everything I truly believe. It’s very natural for me as a leadership coach now to talk with principals about the importance of those principles and what they stand for.”

Since working with principals in the first 10 STEM-themed schools in 2006, Burke has seen NC New Schools grow and change, while maintaining an unwavering focus on student success.

“Those first principals were very receptive because starting a new school is overwhelming. They appreciated the support and we were by their side from the beginning,” Burke said. “Now we go into schools in their sixth or seventh year or into comprehensive high schools. The challenge there as a leadership coach is helping principals understand how to move a staff of up to 120 people. At Hertford County High School, I had a staff of 120, so I have some insight into how you do that.”

According to Burke, principals must have a clear vision of what that change will look like over five years and create an action plan to keep track of progress. Through coaching, she’s able to support principals in staying committed to that plan.

“I want to be sure that they’re focused on instruction that leads to student success,” Burke said. “As a leadership coach, it’s important that I understand how to support principals in getting there — some principals are already there and some need guidance. I don’t have all the answers and I’m not there to tell people what to do. I hope that my experiences and my belief in young people and in teachers and principals help me be a valuable part of the team.”

Burke began her own education career as an elementary physical education teacher, first in Durham and then Duplin County. In 1972, she moved to Alamance County, where she found a progressive school system that encouraged her to explore new ways of teaching.

“My principal put me into an open classroom and added on certifications in language arts and social studies. I was part of a four-teacher team that taught 125 children in a multi-aged open classroom with all the walls knocked down,” Burke said. “It was a great experience and we worked really, really hard. It takes a lot of work when you are constantly planning for what works best for children and not just using textbooks for them to answer questions.”

She went on to serve as an assistant principal and principal in open elementary and middle schools in the district before moving to the more traditional Hertford County Schools.

“I brought my vision of what classrooms should look like, what innovative instruction should look like, so that was a challenge,” Burke said of the move to Hertford. “But I loved it because the teachers were so open to a new way of teaching children.”

Burke moved from middle school principal to assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction before asking to be assigned to Hertford County High School. She had her sights set on becoming superintendent, but with only one female superintendent in the state at that time, she believed she needed to be a high school principal to be considered for the job.

“I saw it as a challenge,” Burke said. “I wanted to know if I could make this a really good school where students from the private school were asking to come back into that public high school. I wanted the children to see that they had opportunities for success after high school.”

While there, Burke focused on making a connection with students and parents — the same kind of personalization promoted in the NC New Schools’ Design Principles. She rode school buses with students to meet their parents and wrote notes on every student’s report card at least twice a year. She made connections with the community college to develop a plan for students who were over 18 and hadn’t yet earned any high school credits. She established a culture of respect and accountability that applied to everyone on campus.

“When students came in with a discipline issue, we started by talking about their academics and focusing on what they needed to be doing to be successful,” Burke said. “Then we dealt with the discipline problem after we had addressed the academic concerns.”

Burke was the sort of principal who could do cartwheels at pep rallies but still hold students — including her own son — to strict standards when it came to acceptable behavior. After a serious fight at school two days before graduation, five students weren’t allowed to participate. Despite protests from families, Burke stood her ground.

“One of the parents called to say her son wanted to come after graduation in his cap and gown to have his picture taken with me,” said Burke, with tears in her eyes. “So we kept the stage set up and took that picture together after everyone else was gone. It was such a rewarding time because they knew I really cared about them.”

Burke went on to become superintendent of Hertford County Schools and then superintendent of Roanoke Rapids Schools before accepting a stint as principal of a lab school at the University of Hawaii, where her husband was working. But she never forgot what it was like to be a principal in a North Carolina public school, a strong connection that benefits the educators that she continues to work with in schools across the state that are partners with NC New Schools.