By Shannon Lukens.

 

The principal of Ridgeview Elementary School in the Moffat County School District has been honored. Crystal Miller has been chosen to be one of 40 Colorado principals to attend the prestigious Tointon Institute for Educational Change this summer. More than 200 people applied to the Principal Leadership Academy, held at the University of Northern Colorado.

 

Press Release from Moffat County School District; Feb. 17, 2025.

Ridgeview Elementary principal Crystal Miller selected to attend prestigious academic leadership academy

Moffat County School District’s own Ridgeview Elementary principal, Crystal Miller, was among just 40 Colorado principals selected out of more than 200 applicants to attend the prestigious Tointon Institute for Educational Change this summer.

Mrs. Miller, in her second year as principal at Ridgeview and a longtime MCSD educator and leader, will attend the Tointon Institute Principal Leadership Academy in June. The powerful and well-respected University of Northern Colorado-based academy is a five-day series of lectures and discussions with skilled facilitators and expert educators and instructional leaders.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow through the Principal Leadership Academy,” Miller said. “I’m devoted to becoming a better leader for my staff and students and I appreciate the chance to collaborate with and learn from such dedicated leaders.”

Miller will follow MCSD’s Sara Linsacum, principal of Craig Middle School, as a graduate of the Tointon Institute. Mrs. Linsacum attended the academy in the summer of 2009 as an Assistant Principal, 2023 as a principal, and took a CMS team in 2024.

“This isn’t a ‘How to be a principal’ conference, this is truly developing you as a leader,” Linsacum said. “It’s revolutionary, to be honest.”

The Tointon Institute for Educational Change has been providing high quality leadership training to K-12 administrators throughout the state of Colorado since 1995. A gift to the University of Northern Colorado from Bob and Betty Tointon of Greeley, Colorado helps to fund this enormously successful program, which has a goal to increase the effectiveness of school leaders so that overall student achievement will be increased. Since its inception, the Tointon Institute has provided professional development to over 4300 principals, teachers, and superintendents in the state of Colorado. The majority of participants in these academies claim that their experiences at the Tointon Institute’s Academies are some of the most valuable they have had in their career.

During the five-day intensive academy, participants are exposed to a variety of leadership practices and principles that are research-based and have been shown to positively affect student achievement and to contribute to the retention of quality teachers and leaders. Each principal participates in follow up professional development with their cohort for one year following the academy. Principals who attend this academy are invited in subsequent years to consider applying to bring a team of teacher leaders to an academy focusing on the work of leadership teams. Only former participants in the Principal Leadership Academy are invited to apply to attend these School and Teacher Leadership Academies.

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