PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Seven principals in the Philadelphia School District are being honored with the prestigious Lindback Award for their leadership and humanitarian contributions.
The awards, presented by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation, each come with a $20,000 stipend to be used at the principals’ schools. Christian Lindback is the former president and owner of Abbotts Dairies.
The winning principals for 2026 are:
- LeAndrea Baltimore-Hagan, John M. Patterson Elementary School
- Sakia Beard Brinkley, Richard R. Wright Elementary School
- Dr. Michelle Burns, Randolph Technical High School
- Dr. Darryl Johnson Jr., Carver High School for Engineering & Science
- Vance McNear, Edwin Forrest Elementary School
- Dr. Lauren Overton, Penn Alexander School
- Dana Singletary, Feltonville-Intermediate School
Dr. Darryl Johnson Jr. is in his fifth year as principal of Carver High School for Engineering & Science and said he believes the Lindback honor grew from the entire school community buying into his vision.
“We’ve been really successful preparing our students for college and career readiness, but also to be leaders of the future,” he told KYW Newsradio.
Johnson said he’ll use the $20,000 prize to upgrade the 10-year-old computers in Carver’s computer labs.
“Some of our MacBooks do not process fast at all. Some of our Mac desktops don’t process fast at all, so we have a lot of breakdowns,” Johnson said. “Students struggle to complete assignments and projects, and we don’t want that anymore.”
Johnson said with structural deficits and possible school closings in the headlines, it’s good to highlight the positives within the walls of his school.
“When we have the opportunity to celebrate all of the phenomenal things that we’re doing, and the fruits of our labor – they need to serve as the light in these dark times,” he said.
At Patterson Elementary School, PSSA math scores were up 16 points last year. But principal LeAndrea Baltimore-Hagan said she’s equally proud of creating an atmosphere where kids want to come to school, with morning assemblies featuring motivational raps.
“I’m there every morning. I’m visible,” she told KYW Newsradio. “The vision for joy has to come from the leader, and it trickles down.”
Baltimore-Hagan said she’ll use the $20,000 stipend from the Lindback honor to expand the MicroSociety at Patterson — a sort of Sim City exercise.
“The scholars spend their morning meeting time, like 30 or 40 minutes, in their own society where they have their own government, mayor, deputy mayor. The kids have businesses,” Baltimore-Hagan explained. “They wrote their own school constitution and bylaws, and then the entrepreneurs who created these businesses hired managers and the managers hired employees. The scholars are learning that they have to pay taxes, and everybody has to go to work in one of these 22 businesses.”
Baltimore-Hagan spent five years as principal at Blankenburg Elementary before guiding Patterson for the last four years. “I’ve been a leader through COVID and through so many crises. We somehow prevail. It’s difficult, but I’ve learned to focus on what we can control,” she said. “And I can control the joy.”
