Following the controversial firing of  McAuliffe’s first and long-time principal, Kurt Dennis, the walls of McAuliffe International School have housed 4 principals. Our newest leader, Lynn Heintzman, joined the community in early January.

Let’s get to know her! 

Mrs. Heintzman was born and raised in Illinois and moved on to study teaching at the University of North Carolina. She taught for 37 years in various schools, such as Denver Discovery Middle School, West High School, and Manual High School, and has been dropping into schools that need support for the previous 7 years.

A longtime leader, Mrs. Heintzman believes that “all students deserve a high-quality education and lots of diverse experiences before high school.” Especially with the recent loss of trust within the community at McAuliffe International School, that message is extremely reassuring. Even through these unprecedented and confusing times, keeping our school’s great educational and social opportunities is vital. 

With the recent and rapid changes in leadership at McAuliffe, Mrs. Heintzman explains that, “[her] job is to ensure that students, parents, and staff members feel supported and listened to,” underscoring her commitment to the community, “My job is not really to come in here and change a lot or inject my philosophy on this school, it’s just to help the school through a difficult transition.”

Though Mrs. Heintzman hasn’t been at MIS for long, she’s noticed some of McAuliffe’s key strengths. She describes that, “the students’ participation in class and great experiences” are a great way to set them up to succeed in life. She’s also paid great attention to  “the number of participants in all of our zero-hour and after-school activities and SHINE.” Again, all of our extracurricular practices are what make us McAuliffe! For so long, our mission and motto has been to strive to change the world, and it’s good to see that even a newer principal can identify our efforts to distinguish our students.

During her time at McAuliffe, Mrs. Heintzman has had an amazing experience. “I walk through the doors every day smiling because of the students,” she voiced, “They’re friendly, they’re fun, they have good energy, they’re hard-working, and it’s just all about the students.”

We’re extremely lucky to have Mrs. Heintzman available and present to support us through our new principal search at McAuliffe. Make sure to say hello to Mrs. Heintzman in the halls!