Dr. Sarah Spruill Armstrong, director of the MA in Education program at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), died unexpectedly on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
Armstrong joined EMU in January 2015. Under her leadership, the education department advanced the restorative justice in education program, with plans to begin a MA program in fall of 2018.
“Sarah was an accomplished educator, cutting-edge researcher, excellent administrator, confidante, mentor, colleague and cherished friend,” says Vice President of Enrollment Jim Smucker, who worked closely with Armstrong in his former position as dean of EMU’s graduate and professional schools. “This is a deep and painful loss for the EMU community.”
A celebration of life ceremony will be 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Rockfish Presbyterian Church, 5016 Rockfish Valley Hwy., Nellysford, Virgina. A reception will follow at the Rockfish Community Center at 190 Rockfish School Lane, Afton, Virginia.
Reflections on her gifts
A key administrator in EMU’s thriving graduate education program, Armstrong brought decades of professional experience as a practitioner, administrator, researcher and consultant. Among her responsibilities at EMU was development of one of the university’s increasingly prominent and cutting-edge programs, restorative justice in education. This development took shape in a variety of forms, through trainings, conferences, grant-funded projects and a new master’s degree program and certificate.
“The principles of restorative justice resonated deeply with her beliefs about classroom and school environments, and she provided critical leadership skills to advocate and launch these programs,” Smucker said. “Her connections and reputation within Virginia public schools, and outside the state, were significantly valuable to the growth and excellence of our graduate program.”
Armstrong was noted among her EMU colleagues and students for her deep conviction that all students can succeed. Her research into neuroeducation provided a factual basis for this conviction, but she also transformed learning lives with a “kind and understanding spirit,” said Don Steiner, former head of the MA in Education program.
“Sarah was skilled in bringing out individual strengths while also challenging people to do better,” said Cathy Smeltzer Erb, chair of the undergraduate education program.
Graduate student Leah Gingerich, who was to begin her action research project under Armstrong’s supervision this semester, was witness and beneficiary of Armstrong’s mentorship for the past two years. Most meaningful, Gingerich says, was the way in which Armstrong blended research, reflection and interpersonal engagement towards her students’ personal nurturing and professional growth.
“My relationship with Sarah was transformative for me personally and academically,” Gingerich said. “During even my deepest struggles, she never failed to see me, in either capacity. She was genuinely invested in my wellbeing, and her care and understanding was unflinching. It was exactly the relationship I needed. Every day I recognize this relationship as a sacred gift. That level of care in a professor/student relationship, her endless understanding, vision, and support is a rare gift. I know that her living, her loving, her research and her knowledge can and will live on through others.”
An accomplished educator
Prior to her appointment at EMU, Armstrong was senior director for K-12 professional development in University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and then director of programs for the Statewide K-12 Education Advisory Council at the Curry School of Education. She played a pivotal role in the development of the Statewide Communities of Practice in Education Excellence (SCOPE) program.
Her long and distinguished career in education began at Lynchburg College where she earned a BA in elementary education and an MEd as a reading specialist. She was a teacher and reading specialist in Amherst County before advancing into an administrative role, supervising programs for reading and gifted students for 10 years. She then moved to Nelson Public County Schools for eight years, where she was executive director of instruction and personnel, followed by executive director of personnel and student services.
She went to University of Virginia for doctoral studies, graduating in 1986 with an EdD in educational leadership and administration, with minors in curriculum and reading.
From 1996 to 1999, Armstrong was principal of Burnley-Moran Elementary School in Charlottesville. From 1999-2007, she was superintendent of Staunton City Schools.
After retiring from public school administration, Armstrong started Leading and Learning Solutions, LLC., an educational consulting firm, through which she led local and national seminars, workshops and coaching on the application of brain research to instructional improvement.
She served as president of the Virginia Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. She was the author of two influential books on neuroscience and pedagogy, “Teaching Smarter with the Brain in Focus,” and “A Practical Guide to Tiering Instruction in the Differentiated Classroom.”
She is survived by her husband, Stuart C. Armstrong; their four children, Adam N. Spruill, Desiree N. Armstrong, Jacqueline B. Armstrong, and John W. Armstrong III; and two grandsons, Andrew J. Spruill and Ashton W-V. Spruill. She is also survived by her mother, Marjorie Nash Reidhead; two sisters, The Rev. Virginia R. Teitt and Julia A. Reidhead; and three brothers, Paris W. Reidhead, James D. Reidhead, and David C. Reidhead. She was pre-deceased by her father, The Reverend Paris W. Reidhead.
Armstrong was an active member and elder at Rockfish Presbyterian Church, where she was integrally involved in its Music and Mission Ministries, including five Youth Mission trips with her son, John, to Mexico and Guatemala. Music was her passion, in addition to singing in the Rockfish church choir, she was a member of the Early Modern performing vocal ensemble MIRA.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Rockfish Presbyterian Church for the Mission and/or Music Ministry.