Burlington School District Announces Final Candidates For Flynn And Edmunds Elementary

Burlington VT

09 May, 2022

1:52 PM

Description

Press release from Burlington School District: May 5, 2022 Nikki Ellis My name is Nikki Ellis (they/them), and I am a proud transgender non-binary school leader in Burlington School District! This is my 8th year in the field of education. Prior to entering the field of education, I had the opportunity to live in Peru for about a year and half. This was a foundational experience that developed the values I still carry today as a school leader. Living in a new culture and learning through collectivism pushed me to see beyond my own schema of the world. It also helped me to develop my bilingualism. Today, I work to honor the values of reciprocity, trust, mutual understanding, and sense of belonging that I developed while living abroad. I started my career in education as a high school ELL/ELA teacher in Des Moines, Iowa, before transitioning into the role of Equity Coach with Des Moines Public Schools. In that role, I had the opportunity to be trained and coached by The New York Leadership Academy and to implement an equity audit and anti-racism coaching for school administrators. My wife and I then moved to the East coast to be closer to her family. This led me to Chelsea High School in Massachusetts, where I became an Assistant Principal. After a few years in the Boston area, my wife and I decided to move to a city with a culture and pace more similar to the Midwest, which is what led us to Burlington! I am currently the Assistant Principal at Edmunds Middle School. In my time at EMS, I have worked to implement a peer mediator program. Students are being trained to resolve harm and conflict in the community. I have absolutely fallen in love with Burlington and plan to stay here long term! Outside of school, I moonlight as a sous chef for a local catering company and run a Queer and BIPOC-friendly surf collective called The Lavender Lineup that helps queer and BIPOC folx to access surfing on the New England coast. When I'm not keeping busy with these projects, my wife and I love spending time hiking with our three dogs! The most essential tenant of my leadership is an unwavering pursuit of collectively building a community that sees, listens to, and understands all members. My favorite way to connect with kids is by asking them to teach me about their passions and interests! Jim Kelley My name is Jim Kelley and I have been the Interim Principal at Hunt Middle School since October. Prior to this experience, I was the Assistant Principal at Hunt for the last four years and before that I taught 7th/8th grade science at Edmunds Middle School for ten years. My experience in schools spans nearly two decades in a wide variety of roles. I've been a paraeducator, behavioral interventionist, high school chemistry and advanced biology teacher, and a middle school math and science teacher. These experiences give me a deep understanding and appreciation for the different ways staff work with and support student learning. In the 1990's I took a hiatus from education to be the Executive Director of the Tibetan Resettlement Project in Burlington. Through this experience I gained a deep appreciation for the challenges refugees face as they begin a new life in a vastly different culture. I am passionate about restorative practices, anti-racist work, equity, and deeper learning. I am committed to making Hunt a place where all students feel welcome and celebrated. I'm committed to developing better student/adult partnerships and better school/family partnerships. I want students to experience learning that is engaging and feels meaningful to them. The pandemic has dealt a challenging blow these past years to some of this work, but I am committed to guiding our school with its talented teachers and staff beyond this storm to realize our full potential. I earned a Master of Education degree from St. Michael's College in School Leadership and a B.A. from Middlebury College in Religion, with a special focus on Tibetan Buddhism and a minor in Organic Chemistry. I live in Burlington with my wife Yangchen and our dog Chipper. The three of us love long walks, hiking and camping. I have two children. Tenzin is a junior at Temple University and Sonam is a sophomore at Northeastern University. Both of them attended Burlington schools K-12. I treasure time with my children when they are home for vacations. Casey Provost My name is Casey Provost and I am thankful for your consideration as you select the next Principal of Edmunds Elementary School. Having spent nine years in Vermont schools and school districts, and as a Burlington resident for the last four of those years, I am excited about the opportunity to serve students and families in our community. My approach to the principalship is built on strong and positive working relationships with students and their families/caregivers while working closely with staff and community partners to maximize the impact that we can have on students. When asked during this interview process to describe my educational philosophy I shared that I believe our charge as elementary educators is to help students learn about themselves and grow as they navigate both the school and wider community. First and foremost, we need to ensure that children are given the care, support, and guidance needed to navigate social and emotional circumstances that they encounter. When the social and emotional needs of students are addressed, we create better conditions to make academic gains. As educators, I think that we have both an opportunity and responsibility to pursue and model learning and growth as a lifelong process. After completing an undergraduate degree in mental health and human services, I studied school and mental health counseling at SUNY Plattsburgh, earning a master's degree in education and a certificate of advanced study. As a school counselor I found myself not only working with students on an individual, small-group, and classroom basis but was also fortunate to work closely with administration to look at and build upon both the successes and opportunities within systems and structures. Wanting to increase my efficacy and capacity as a leader, I enrolled in graduate study in education administration to obtain a principal endorsement. Then as a principal, navigating how to maximize our resources and supports to impact students, I sought to better understand how workplace practices and conditions impact the organization through graduate study in human resources management. Learning takes many forms, both in traditional school settings and also what we learn from our experiences and from those who we encounter. My background in school counseling shapes and influences my work with students, families, and staff each day. As a school counselor and home/school coordinator I worked closely with families to ensure that students had access to the support they needed in order to be successful inside and outside of the classroom. Due to a high degree of transiency in my (then) district, a primary focus of my role was to ensure that transitions to a new school and community were as seamless as possible and I have continued to work through this lens in each role. Students and families bring varied experiences and perspectives which enrich the entire school community and it is a privilege to be a part of a school community. While the principalship is filled with both celebrations and challenges, it is where I see my skill set being best utilized in working with teams to make decisions and plans that positively contribute to student growth and promote learning outcomes. This press release was produced by Burlington School District . The views expressed here are the author's own.