The Simms principle: Muriel Simms worked to make Lincoln Elementary a better place for kids of color

Lisa Speckhard Pasque:

Muriel Simms had never been a principal before she walked into Lincoln Elementary School in August of 1988. The south Madison school did not have a good reputation.

“I get very angry with the perception that’s out there,” she said in an August 1988 Cap Times article. “I choose to ignore it.”

That story was headlined “Nobody’s more nervous than new principals,” but Simms was quoted as saying, “Really, I think I’m going to be so busy the first day, I won’t have time for the jitters.”

Simms was a little nervous when she returned to Lincoln earlier this month. She hadn’t been back since she left in 1994 to work as an equity coordinator for the district. While leading the school was the highlight of her career, being a principal is tough, and not all the memories waiting for her were good ones.