Jill Corcoran

Westerly Creek Elementary School Principal Jill Corcoran runs the biggest elementary school in DPS “like a well-oiled machine,” says fifth-grade teacher Alicia FaJohn, who says Corcoran is her mentor. “She doesn’t realize how deeply she inspires the children and the staff in the building.” FaJohn says as standards have become more rigorous, teachers need to be “reinventing the wheel” to meet the challenges of educating kids for the 21st century. “What’s amazing about her is how she empowers her staff, giving teachers the opportunity to be leaders, to write grants, to take on new roles.”

This fall, Corcoran has had one more challenge—she’s been undergoing treatment for breast cancer—but she hasn’t missed a day of the work she believes in so deeply, says FaJohn. Realizing how much they rely on her, teachers and staff wanted to show their support. They knew Corcoran would be walking the 5K Race for the Cure with her son and husband on September 29, so a few friends (starting with newly named middle school principal Kristen Atwood) secretly spread the word that they would show up and surprise Corcoran at the event. On race day, more than 60 staff, parents and students surprised Corcoran and accompanied her along the route to honor her. And students have shown their support at school by making pink bracelets and delivering them with the message, “I support breast cancer awareness.”

The phrase on Corcoran’s race shirt, “Proud to be your inspiration,” was fitting, says FaJohn. “I don’t think she realized the depth and importance of the phrase to her staff.”

Sixty of Corcoran’s staff and friends surprised her at the Race for the Cure. Pictured are: Alise Strawn, Cindy Praeske, Jill Corcoran, Maureen Jerrett, Maggie Martin, and Dominique Jefferson (the new assistant principal at Westerly Creek this year).