Frankfurt International School appointed two leaders to principal roles this year, each bringing a distinct approach to their transition. Their stories offer valuable lessons for international school educators about effectively navigating leadership transitions.

Margarita Mendez: A Newcomer with Familiar Expertise

Margarita Mendez joined FIS as the new Primary School Principal, bringing prior principal experience from her time as the Lower School Principal at the American School of Doha. Moving to Germany was a big change for her family after years of living in Doha, and getting settled in her home was an important step to be ready for her new school environment. Margarita pointed out the school’s thoughtful efforts to support the transition of newcomers like herself, such as inviting her to visit the campus in May prior to moving to Germany, which helped her become familiar with names and faces when she landed in August. With a buddy program already in place, Margarita was paired with a long-term staff member who answered questions about life in Frankfurt and helped with important basics such as getting a phone card. Margarita appreciates the school’s intentionality in connecting with newcomers at a human level, before diving into professional needs, which aligns with her own beliefs.

For her own leadership transition, Margarita prioritized a human-centered approach, spending time getting to know people in her division, being present and available, and observing activities, processes, and systems each day. “I wanted to establish myself in a very gentle, positive way with the teachers, children, and parents, so that people see me as an ally, somebody who is going to be supportive, as opposed to a supervisor who makes changes without knowing how things have been done. I really wanted to come in as someone who was calm and present and to deflect stress and tension.”

Centering relationship building and emotional presence has set a good tone with the staff, many of whom have been at the school for a long time. She held one-on-one meetings with teachers to get to know them both personally and professionally, conducted read-alouds in classrooms to get to know students, and was visible at the school gate to connect with families.

With her calm demeanor and human-centered leadership, she created a safe space to ask questions about systems and processes, and helped ease anxieties about change, especially in a division where most staff had been teaching for over a decade and where the previous leader was in place for a long time. These actions help Margarita understand her division’s unique strengths and allow trust to grow in a natural, organic manner.

Gioia Morasch: A Veteran with Fresh Responsibilities

Gioia Morasch has been a long-term member of FIS, holding a variety of mid-level leadership positions, before being promoted this year to the dual role of Middle School Principal and Director of Teaching and Learning for Grades 6-10. Her deep institutional knowledge is a powerful asset, providing her with unique insight that is useful in every situation. At the same time, Gioia is new to the principal position, and new to the Middle School division on the Oberusel campus, so she is on new territory within the familiarity of the school she has served for so long.

Selecting an internal candidate for a leadership role is more the exception than the norm; internal candidates are just not hired very often in international schools. Often, there may be some bias against someone who is known to the community, and an assumption that someone from the outside will be better equipped to bring the latest ideas to move the school forward, thus adding to the bias against an internal candidate. Gioia knows this well, and had to do a lot of soul searching through the process. In reflecting on this, she says, “I have been so invested in this institution that I love, and I know a lot about it. At the same time, even though I have been part of the institution for so long, I have never worked in this division before, and I bring fresh eyes. Overall, the search was a challenging process, but I can honestly say that I am in the right place.”

Gioia was deliberate in planning her leadership transition. Before officially beginning her role, she conducted over 50 transition meetings with all members of her division, over a four-month period, during or after school hours. Using AI tools to collect and analyze data from these meetings, she worked closely with other leaders in the secondary school to synthesize the data and to determine key themes that would become strategic goals for the division. “I wanted to understand what the faculty valued and what they saw as areas of opportunity that we needed to work on. We were able to tell the faculty that we were a unified team, and that we would commit to these goals.”  Her data-driven process was transparent and inclusive, giving people time and space to be involved in moving divisional goals forward, generating trust and empathy.

Gioia’s emphasis on transparency, emotional intelligence, and methodical decision-making continues the foundation of a positive school culture that serves its community.

Two Paths, One Goal

While Margarita and Gioia took different routes – one entering from the outside, the other rising from within – they share a commitment to thoughtful leadership that centers on people. Their transitions highlight two effective approaches, both valuable and impactful:

• Building trust through presence, listening, and emotional support; (the relational entry – Margarita didn’t start with a set plan. She started with people.)
• Leveraging institutional knowledge to lead with insight and strategic clarity; (the informed entry – Gioia didn’t need to learn the culture. She helped build it.)

Transition plans are more effective when they are customized to the context of the school community and the individual leader. And whether a leader is new to the school or new to the role, they thrive when they are encouraged to lead with authenticity, empathy, and vision.