Positive School principal Dr. Donna Burd has been working to make Pattonville Positive School a better learning environment for seven years, and now she believes it is time for some change.
“After being a principal for seven years, and with 10 years left, I had to think to myself: How do I want to spend those 10 years?” Burd said. “I want to interact more with the students directly and do creative and energetic things.”
Burd said she isn’t sure what is next for her exactly but ensures that she will still be in the Pattonville School District.
“In order to do my job successfully, someone would need to be able to be flexible, prioritize and have a strong work ethic, but there’s more to it than that, they’d need to love kids, be approachable and empathetic, and tell them their jokes are funny,” Burd said with a smile.
Through 14 years of teaching – some good, some bad – Burd said the most important lesson she can take away from her time here is patience and learning to accept everyone because everyone has their own problems.
“Something I’ve always loved about being principal is when I first get here in the morning and the kids are excited and happy and that makes me excited and happy.”