Mission Statement
At St. Petersburg Primary School, we nurture curious minds through play-based education and joyful exploration. We develop confident and compassionate children within our welcoming, faith-based community.
At St. Petersburg Primary School, we nurture curious minds through play-based education and joyful exploration. We develop confident and compassionate children within our welcoming, faith-based community.
From Ashley Hardy, Head of School:
St. Petersburg Primary School (SPPS) serves families who are seeking a faith-based primary school education for their children. Our low student-teacher ratios and our experienced faculty facilitate exploration, curiosity and problem solving.
In our preschool program, children learn to work independently as well as cooperatively with their peers, while developing strong character traits such as empathy, perseverance and responsibility. Early literacy and mathematics foundations, as well as each child’s social and emotional growth, are cultivated through a play-based, thematic curriculum.
In our elementary program, students expand their skills as they explore engaging and complex units of study with an emphasis on the learning process, rather than simply memorizing content.
Play-based learning is active and interactive, giving students opportunities to explore their acquired knowledge through hands-on, engaging projects. Our students become independent thinkers who know how to seek knowledge, question and interpret it, and develop conclusions that are evidence-based.
Character development continues into our elementary program, expanding upon the social-emotional skills learned in preschool to include generosity, respect and appreciation for yourself and others, diligence, global citizenship, personal reflection, and a growth mindset.
Cultivating a strong sense of community within our school is one of our core values. Parent Socials, Family Movie Night, Monthly Chapel Services, Playtime on the Playground, Halloween Costume Parade, and our Annual Art Show are a few of the ways our community stays strong and connected. Parent involvement is encouraged through active participation in school events, fundraisers, field trips, holiday parties and more.
When your child enrolls in our school, your family becomes a part of our loving school community and we become partners in your child’s education.
Ashley Hardy
Head of School
President
Jennifer González is a senior legal information specialist with the Library of Congress. A native of Saint Petersburg, she graduated cum laude from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in history and a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean studies. Jennifer worked for several years in the private academic sector and as a professional musician. She then obtained a juris doctor from Pace University School of Law with a certificate in international law, followed by a master’s in library information science from the University of Washington with a certificate in law librarianship. She has worked at the Gallagher Law Library, as an adjunct professor for the University of the District of Columbia, and interned with the United Nations. She lives in St. Petersburg with her husband, Fernando, and two children who currently attend St. Petersburg Primary School.
Vice President
Elizabeth McCrillis Loh is an attorney and is active in the local community. A graduate of Stanford Law School and The College of William and Mary, she spent seven years practicing law at the Washington, D.C. offices of a leading global law firm. Her focus was on white-collar defense, internal investigations, and both U.S. and foreign government investigations. In addition to serving on the SPPS Board, she is Chair of the Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County and a member of the St. Petersburg Civilian Police Review Committee. Elizabeth lives in St. Petersburg with her husband and four young children.
Treasurer
David Schintzius co-founded Two Bays Audit and Risk Solutions in 2022, Prior to that, he was the Director of Finance and Operations at Tampa Preparatory School from 2018 to 2023. In 2016, David joined Tech Data Corporation as Vice President, Finance to lead the re-launch of the Company’s Enterprise Risk Management Program. Before joining Tech Data, David was Vice President, Global Financial Operations and Enterprise Risk Management at Avnet, Inc. from 2011 to 2016. A graduate of the SUNY Buffalo, David, a CPA, began his career in public accounting with Ernst & Young. Additionally, he has held senior finance leadership positions over his 30-plus year career with major international companies, including Sears Holdings, McKesson Corporation, Pitney Bowes and Chiquita Brands International. He has served on the Tampa Preparatory School New Building Task Force Board; and on the Boards of Directors of Community Tampa Bay; Marriage Matters Arizona; and the Metropolitan Community Foundation of San Francisco. David and his husband, Geoffrey, are the parents of twin daughters, Emma and Paige and reside in Tampa, FL.
Past President
Alais Griffin serves as Past President of the Board of Directors for St. Petersburg Primary School. She is General Counsel of Neptune Flood Insurance, the largest provider of private flood insurance in the U.S., and the founding member of her own law firm, where her
clients range from startups to Fortune 50 companies and include for-profit and nonprofit
organizations. Alais previously served as a litigation partner in the Chicago and Washington DC offices of two leading global law firms; as a senior political appointee in the Obama Administration; and as General Counsel for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, one of the nation’s largest and oldest youth-serving nonprofits. In addition to serving on the SPPS Board, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of American Stage Theatre Company.
Alais graduated cum laude from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she was
Executive Editor of the Northwestern University Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. She received
her B.A., cum laude general studies, from Harvard University, where she was a four-year varsity letter winner in
track and cross-country, captain of the cross-country team, and an Academic All-American. After law school, she
clerked for Judge Harry D. Leinenweber of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Alais’s daughter has attended St. Petersburg Primary School since 2020.
Board Member
Audrey McCarty
Audrey McCarty is the VP of Strategic Development and an executive team member at Growve, a St. Pete-based brand accelerator. Over the last several years, Audrey played a critical role in scaling and integrating business operations from a startup to a company with 500+ employees and 10+ departments. Before Growve, Audrey worked in national advertising and brand marketing for Panera Bread in St. Louis, Missouri.
Audrey is a Delta Zeta alumna and has volunteered with organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters and Junior League. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri–St. Louis and recently completed bridge coursework on company sponsorship through Harvard Business School. Audrey and her husband, Sam, live in St. Pete and have two children at SPPS.
Board Member
William (Bill) Shelton, M.Ed., retired from teaching kindergarten and elementary classes at Shorecrest Preparatory School and Admiral Farragut Academy. Before his years as a teacher, he retired from business reporting and editing at the Tampa Tribune and overseeing a college scholarship program at the former St. Petersburg Times. Bill is a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church, a Stephen Minister, elder, and former chair of many of the church’s committees, including the former Day School Committee. Both of his adult children are graduates of this school.
Bill is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, and a graduate of The University of Oklahoma. He and his wife, retired journalist and educator Gretchen Letterman, spend their vacations in Maine with their firstborn and Southern Arizona visiting their U.S. Army family — tending grandchildren and hummingbirds.
Board Member
Monique Sajjad is an oncologist and hematologist in St. Petersburg with Florida Cancer Specialists. She trained at the University of Florida and completed her fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center before returning to the Tampa Bay area to raise her family. Her two children, ages 9 and 6, have both attended St. Petersburg Primary since kindergarten, and she has loved being an active part of the school community
Board Member
Will Hough is a Senior Vice President at Directed Capital, a commercial real estate
specialty finance firm based in St. Petersburg. Directed Capital manages a series of
private equity partnerships with a focus on the acquisition and resolution of secondary
market loans. In his current role, he focuses on managing the pipeline of new
investment opportunities while simultaneously managing a portfolio of diverse assets.
Will graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Rollins College, and a Master of Business
Administration from the University of Florida. Will was recently the Vice Chair of the
board for the American Stage Theatre Company and currently sits on the board for
WRH Realty.
Will lives in St. Petersburg with his wife Erica and their two daughters, Ellie and Emma.