2025 40 Under 40: Jaime Wright

Being a professional leader for both students and staff helps Jaime Wright excel at Nixa High School.

As associate principal, she implemented a positive behavioral program that rewards students for making good choices. Her job, she says, can be viewed negatively, but she thinks it can be more about inspiring students to reach their own potential.

Mentorship of staff has also been a focus. To make new members of the administrative team feel at home, Wright, 38, organized the onboarding process to make the task of administration less daunting. She leads NHS’ new teacher induction program and the teacher leadership group, and she works with counselors and social workers to ensure student success.

“I truly love my job, because each day I get to positively impact the trajectory of students’ lives,” she says.

Best productivity hack? Determine your most productive time of day – early morning, late night, midday – and utilize it, even if it happens to be at 4:30 a.m. (like me) before the rest of my family wakes up. Also, what gets scheduled gets done, so create a calendar event, make a to-do list or set reminders for tasks that must be accomplished.

Best piece of advice you’ve received? Keep a happy file of workplace wins: cards, emails or photos of job-related successes. On your most challenging days, review it and remember your why.