Erica Bammes is a principal at Lee Elementary in the USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden school district. She is in her 20th year in public education. Mrs. Bammes earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education from Fort Hays State University in 2002. Her first teaching job was in a general education classroom in an elementary school in rural northwest Kansas. Later she pursued a Master of Science degree in Adaptive Special Education through Fort Hays State University and continued work as an early childhood special education teacher in northwest Kansas. In 2010, Mrs. Bammes and her family moved to Manhattan where Mrs. Bammes has taught, served as assistant principal, and now head principal for USD 383. She joined the teacher leadership academy in 2015 and graduated from Kansas State University in 2017 with a Master of Science in Educational Leadership. She has served in a variety of leadership roles throughout her service in public education. Mrs. Bammes is a Kansas Horizon Award winner, has been previously nominated as the Kansas Teacher of the Year, and currently serves as region 4 chairperson for Kansas Principal’s Association. Mrs. Bammes’ mission is to serve students, teachers, and staff in growing and learning. Another passion of hers is in serving students who have experienced trauma and are struggling with behaviors in order to help them be successful in school as well as helping teachers find the tools to be successful with students who are struggling. She has three children who attend the USD 383 school district. In her spare time, she enjoys exercising, reading, and decorating her house.