“Assistant principals are the co-pilots of the school,” says Dr. Nicole Luke. At Lindblom Math and Science Academy in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood, she wears many hats — each one with purpose. Whether she’s celebrating student wins, coaching teachers, leading equity spaces, or supporting her principal’s mission, she embodies the kind of steady, visionary leadership that keeps a school thriving.
Now in her first year as assistant principal at Lindblom — and with five years of administration experience in Chicago Public Schools — Nicole brings her deep commitment to equity, leadership, and learning to every layer of her role.
Hat #1: The Instructional Leader
Before becoming an administrator, Nicole taught high school history for eight years in charter and public schools. “I enjoyed providing students with relevant and culturally responsive education,” she says.
Her love for teaching grew naturally into a passion for leadership. As a teacher, she was a tenth-grade-level lead and U.S. history course team lead, which allowed her to help colleagues solve problems and strengthen school-wide practices.
As an assistant principal, she supports instruction by working directly with teacher teams, overseeing departments, and managing day-to-day operations. “I want to be a collaborator — a co-laborer — with teachers to develop solutions,” Nicole explains. “We meet regularly, set goals, and when something unexpected comes up, I’m often the person who can jump in and solve it on the spot.”
Hat #2: The Student Advocate
Nicole is committed to being present for students, too, whether in the hallways, in classrooms, or in their celebrations. “I pride myself on being accessible and available. Actually, yesterday a student said, ‘I see you everywhere.’ I said, ‘Yes, that’s my goal.’”
She supports the seventh- and eighth-grade teams and is intentional about uplifting both academic and social-emotional success. At Lindblom, the school’s “Be”lief pillars guide how students are encouraged to engage in the school community, and Nicole helps lead the effort to recognize and celebrate students who embody those values. “We’ve been having student celebrations — recognizing students who exhibit ‘Be’lief pillar traits, as well as students who make [the] honor roll.”
She also builds strong family partnerships by helping to host virtual town halls and maintaining open lines of communication with parents.
Hat #3: The Staff Coach & Culture Builder
Nicole considers herself a partner in her colleagues’ professional growth. She regularly meets with teacher leaders and grade-level leads to set goals, work through challenges, and provide support. “Seeing them set goals for themselves and have aspirations toward improving student outcomes” is a huge benefit of being an assistant principal, she says.
She emphasizes the importance of being a good listener, especially when it comes to supporting teachers. “I want to hear what their aspirations are, what their struggles are — for their department, for their students.” She adds that “being a good listener and being empathetic — those are qualities that make good assistant principals, and they’re qualities you can build before even stepping into the role.”
Whether she’s problem-solving in the moment or planning for her teachers’ long-term development, Nicole is focused on building a strong, healthy staff culture that centers students.
Nicole Luke in 2022, when she was an assistant principal at North-Grand High School. Read more about her work there in our report Emerging Innovation in Chicago Public Schools.
Hat #4: The Vision Partner
Nicole is fully aligned with her principal’s vision and believes that strong alignment between leaders is essential. “I am 100% bought in and supportive,” she says, referring to Principal Starlet Banks, who is also in her first year at Lindblom. “I make sure that I’m enacting [her] vision with the teams I lead and the teachers I support.”
She sees her role as helping to operationalize big-picture ideas and making sure the school’s direction is felt at every level. “The principal is the visionary, and we [assistant principals] are the ones who ensure that the rubber meets the road — that vision is actually brought into fruition.”
Her connection with the administrative team has been a highlight of her time as a leader at Lindblom. “We collaborate so well together,” she says of Starlet as well as fellow Assistant Principal Adrienne Morales and Assistant Principal Michael Meadows.
And their leadership extends beyond their work — it’s about care, too. “We also just provide emotional and spiritual support for each other. It really means a lot when you work alongside someone who is aligned . . . and we care about each other as full human beings, not just colleagues.”
For Nicole, this moment in her career is about what she calls “reblooming Lindblom.” “[It] was always an amazing school — we’re just ensuring that the amazingness happening inside the school is promoted outside the school as well.”
Hat #5: The Community Builder
Outside of Lindblom, Nicole co-leads Chicago Public Schools’ Black Affinity Group. It is an initiative to help Black educators build community and grow in leadership. “The space really gave us a chance to be in community with Black educators across the district — to process, share resources, and work through challenges together.”
She co-leads the group with Principal Dr. Samuel Davis, a fellow member of her doctoral cohort at the University of Illinois Chicago. Their shared vision is about growing leadership in each other. “We talk a lot about building human capacity — finding opportunities to promote from within and give people space to lead.” Nicole believes that assistant principals are essential — not only for keeping schools running smoothly but also for ensuring a strong pipeline of principals. “We’re the link in the pipeline of building up more leadership in the district,” she says.
This work brings Nicole full circle. As a high school student, she received the Golden Apple scholarship. “It gave me financial support, but also built my first professional network. That’s where I started to see what was possible.” And now, she’s creating that same kind of space for others. “Pouring into educators so they can go back and create these spaces in their own schools — that’s what impacts student success.”
Through every hat she wears, Nicole Luke proves that assistant principals don’t just support a school. They help shape its future.