Name: Dr. Watechia Lawless-Mitchell
Role: Principal
School: Napier Elementary School
District: Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools
State: Tennessee
“Social and Emotional Learning is essential to ensuring that students have the skills, language, and mindset to develop habits that will them to succeed academically and to grow personally. She is committed to creating an environment that supports that helps students identify and develop their gifts and talents and teach them how to use them to make the world better.”
Dr. Lawless is the Executive Principal at Napier Elementary School. She has worked to provide consistency, instructional leadership, and a professional skill set that allows me to lead and support a school environment that is currently undergoing a transformation. With targeted efforts and district and community support, Napier Elementary was recognized as a 2019 Reward School by the state of Tennessee. Napier’s vision is to work together to inspire leaders, learners, and high achievers. She is a Nashville native and has spent the past 23 years working to improve the quality of public school education, higher education, and small business development in the city. She has a BA in Economics for Spelman College, an MBA from Belmont University, an M.ED from Vanderbilt University, and Ed.D from Lipscomb University. She enjoys spending time with her family, especially her fiance’ Mario, her two sons Akile’ (23) and Reginald (15), friends, and sorority sisters.