Friends,
I am pleased to announce that Kim Townsend will serve as the School Director for Crossroads College Preparatory School beginning July 1st. Kim loves teaching and learning and is committed to our students and our mission. She brings a range of experiences to this role that will serve our community well.
Kim began her teaching career with Teach for America as a sixth grade math teacher for the St. Louis Public Schools. Following this experience, Kim taught at Normandy Middle School before joining Crossroads College Preparatory School’s math department in August of 2013. Between her experiences at Normandy and Crossroads, Kim was the founding Head of School for Jamaa Learning Center, a K-8 charter school in St. Louis. In addition to these teaching and leading experiences, Kim has served as adjunct faculty at UMSL, a STEM content specialist for Teacher for America, and a program director and advisor for various math- and science-related professional development experiences for Teach for America teachers.
In addition to her application, Kim participated in two writing exercises and a panel interview with her peers. In her final interview with me, I was impressed by her good questions, by her trusting and trustworthy nature, and by her interest in serving Crossroads on behalf of the talent and skills our students and teachers bring to class each day.
The School Director will be responsible for three main areas:
- Managing the daily operations of the school,
- Leading and facilitating leadership around students support services (e.g., counseling, academic support, and the like), and
- Leading and facilitating leadership around curriculum and the academic program.
Kim will have the support of the counselors and the grade group leaders in the second instance above and will have the support of the department chairs in the third. As a network of mutuality, faculty, staff, and administration will continue to work together to sustain and improve where we are excellent and where we might be better.
With great expectations,
Jason