Claudia Nachtigal, MATS, CAEL

Head of School

Claudia T. Nachtigal was appointed Head of The Highlands School in October 2022 after serving as Assistant Head of School and Chief Operating Officer at an independent school in Virginia. She is deeply committed to The Highlands School’s mission of educating students with learning differences and helping them overcome barriers to reach new levels of academic and personal success.

Since joining The Highlands School, Nachtigal has led the school through a period of significant growth and renewed organizational strength. Her leadership has been recognized through numerous honors, including being named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women, inclusion on Maryland’s 500 List, recognition as Harford County’s Best Principal, and being named “The Face of Education That Works” by Baltimore Magazine.

Nachtigal brings an unusually broad range of experience to school leadership, with a professional background spanning education, nonprofit and ministry leadership, counseling, mediation, business, and law. This multidisciplinary experience has shaped her collaborative, mission-driven approach to organizational leadership and community building.

Originally from Greenville, South Carolina, Nachtigal grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and studied vocal music and education at Virginia Commonwealth University. She later earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies, summa cum laude, from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, and most recently completed a Certificate in Advanced Educational Leadership from Harvard University.

Her earlier honors include being named Teacher of the Year in Newport News Public Schools and receiving a full scholarship for short-term study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Nachtigal is married and has two adult children.