25 Women for 2023: Pineview principal Carmen Conner sparks school turnaround
A lifelong Tallahassee resident, Carmen Conner grew up in Leon County public schools, watching the city grow up with her. She is a born educator who remembers setting up a classroom of her own and playing school. “Even if I had a classroom of nobody, I would pretend to be the teacher,” she laughs.
That instinct led her to create a career in education that serves the community she loves, and to inspire those around her as one of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know.
After earning a degree in Elementary Education from Florida A&M University, Conner spent 14 years as a classroom teacher at Hawks Rise Elementary before becoming the assistant principal at Roberts Elementary. Now, you can find her proudly walking the halls of Pineview Elementary, a school that was failing when she arrived and now boasts at B grade.
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She vividly remembers hearing her second-grade teacher, Mrs. Roy, reading the "Boxcar Children." “That’s when I fell in love with books,” she shares. “I would go home and pretend that I was one of the boxcar children.”
As principal, she relishes the opportunity to share that same joy of reading and learning with the students in her school. “The most important thing I can do for our students is to offer unique experiences,” she says. “As a Title 1 school, many of our students, for a variety of reasons, don’t have access to things that could spark an interest in future studies.”
To that end, she writes grants to fund field trips, musical instruments, and after school programming. “I want them to have the same experiences as their counterparts on the other side of town.” She recalls a high school field trip to the Salvador Dali museum, which opened her eyes to new concepts and ideas and inspired her to invest in student experiences beyond the classroom. “About one third of the students in my school don’t leave home other than to go to school. If we can connect them with a glimpse of what else is out there, I want to do it.”
Carmen has a sense of adventure, recently taking up beekeeping as a hobby. “I had the idea that I was going to make honey and give it away to my friends, and then I learned more about it and how hard it could be,” she laughs. “I’m going to give it a real effort, we will see how it works out!”
Spending time with her husband and their adult daughters takes priority during free time, and you can often find them kayaking on area rivers seeking out manatees or at a local restaurant enjoying good food. “When we travel, as soon as we decide where to stay, we decide where to eat!” she says with a chuckle. She enjoys exploring the city as it evolves and changes, finding joy in the revitalization of FAMU Way and Cascades Park, saying, “I enjoy visiting large cities, but the vortex of Tallahassee is strong!”
Carmen invites the community to visit Pineview Elementary and discover the opportunities to volunteer and engage with the students. “In a Title 1 school, over half of the students have not attended preschool because of a variety of reasons,” she explains. “Of all of the volunteer opportunities in our city, giving time as a mentor or volunteer at a school like mine really helps.”
Her passion for equity in education led to service on the first Children’s Services Council, where she is finishing a two-year term. “It is exactly what the families of schools like mine need,” she says. “I put my name in to be considered and was appointed by the Governor to serve. I feel proud to have been part of the inaugural group to get this support into the lives of children who need it.”
From student to teacher and now principal and community advocate, Carmen Conner’s classroom is no longer empty. The children and families that she reaches each day are inspired by the passion, joy, and leadership that define who she is.