At its July 18 meeting, the Great Valley School Board approved the appointment of Christa Keister as the third assistant principal at Great Valley High School, a position that is new for the coming school year. Her appointment provides additional leadership and support for the increasing population seen at the high school, which now has a student enrollment of more than 1,400.

Keister most recently worked as the K-12 ELD (English Language Development) Coordinator and a middle school administrative intern in the School District of Springfield Township. A member of the district’s Equity Team and Equitable Practices Committee, Keister actively restructured the district’s ELD programming, with a focus on creating processes and systems to support students and build collective efficacy among the staff. She also assisted with the creation of learning support schedules in the middle school, and co-created and implemented new summer programming focused on student growth and achievement. Prior to her experience in the School District of Springfield Township, Keister was the coordinator of curriculum and assessment for the Capital Normal University High School, based in Beijing, China, where she collaborated with Chinese administrators and program staff from Germantown Academy to improve professional development, student attendance, grading and transcripts, and the Advanced Placement program.

 “As a school leader, I am most passional about people – the students we serve, the teachers, we support, etc. – and building collective efficacy in our schools around diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Keister. “In particular, I value work around students’ sense of belonging and creating safe spaces in our schools.”

Keister earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Eastern University, and her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Pennsylvania State University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational administration and policy from Immaculata University. She has certifications as K-12 principal, ESL specialist, PK-12 Spanish, and private school certification in Spanish, K-12. In addition to her coaching/administrative experience, Keister was also a coach/assistant coach for soccer and track and field, and was herself named to Eastern University’s Athletics’ Hall of Honor in 2019.