Ellie Neal had a stressful time managing a crowd of students at lunch. Otherwise, things ran smoothly for the Edgeworth Elementary second-grader as she served as the school's principal for a day Dec. 15.
The 8-year-old from Bell Acres earned the honorary position after her parents submitted the winning bid in a silent auction at the Child Health Association of Sewickley Centennial Ball and Play Nov 18 at the Edgeworth Club.
The gala raised about $200,000 for the all-volunteer women's nonprofit, which distributes grants to children's programs throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Principal Elizabeth, accompanied by principal Carol Sprinker, began a full day of activities with a police escort to the school. She then made morning rounds to classrooms with Sprinker and had class time and recess with teacher Gretchen Flowers.
After helping with lunch duty, in which she called classes and enforced positive behavior among students, she shared a meal with her classmates and Sprinker in her homeroom.
There, desks were arranged in a circle, with each child asking Sprinker one question.
“Ellie was kind enough to ask Dr. Sprinker to have lunch inside her classroom with all of her classmates rather than a private lunch,” Flowers said. “All of the students were so polite and listened carefully to each of Dr. Sprinker's answers.”
Neal also allowed students at the school, which has an enrollment of about 410 and serves students in K-5, to wear pajamas all day, which Flowers said was fun.
After lunch, a Holiday Craft Workshop supervised by parent volunteers was held in the Maker Space Garage.
A school-wide fire drill followed, with Neal assisting Sprinker and school police officer Thomas Liberty. After the drill, Liberty and Neal bestowed an award on a classroom selected for positive fire-drill behavior.
Neal then ran the Holly Jolly Trolley with school guidance counselor Jessica Jackson, in which a holiday snack was delivered to each teacher as a special treat.
The day ended with Neal helping with dismissal.
Neal said her favorite part of the day was spending time with Sprinker, who is retiring at the end of December.
“I will miss her,” she said.
Donielle Neal said her daughter needed little preparation, except for help with her hair that morning.
She said she and her husband were delighted to support the child health association on its 100th anniversary.
“We knew Ellie would love this opportunity, so it was a win-win,” Neal said. “When we made the bid, we had no expectation of what the day would bring, and were just blown away by the generosity of the whole Edgeworth and (Quaker Valley School District) community.
“The leadership and faculty as Edgeworth went out of their way to ensure that Ellie had an unforgettable experience.”
Flowers gave her student a perfect score, calling her energetic, kind, thoughtful, decisive and organized.
Sprinker also was impressed by her energy.
“She spread holiday cheer and included her classmates and friends in the experience,” Sprinker said. “Principal Elizabeth is a sweet young lady with a bright future in any field she chooses.”
Flowers said it is likely the event will become a December tradition at the school, a prospect that pleases Amy LoCascio, who co-chaired the Centennial Ball and Play.
“I am sure that if the school is generous enough to do it again, there will be even more bidders now that everyone saw how wonderful it was,” she said. “We love any time we can involve people throughout the community, and the Edgeworth Elementary Principal for a Day did just that.”
First Published: December 29, 2023, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: December 30, 2023, 3:03 a.m.
