by Sue Chandler This week, two veteran Adams 14 employees were appointed as instructional leaders in our schools. It is a testament to the high quality of our staff when internal candidates shine above the rest to earn administrative positions in our schools. It is exciting that we are growing our own leaders to help our students advance their learning.
First, Adams City Middle School teacher Matt Schwartz has been promoted to become the assistant principal of ACMS. Matt's teaching career - all 16 years of it - has taken him to various schools in Adams 14. He started at Dupont, then moved to Kemp, and he has taught math for the past seven years at ACMS. Matt has served as summer school principal for many years in our district, and he is a member of the STAR teacher program as a teacher leader. We are excited that Matt will expand his role at ACMS, because he has so many of the essential skills of strong school leaders:
Ability to build relational trust with staff, students, and parents;
Instructional leadership and understanding of data use to inform and differentiate instruction;
A belief in continued learning and growth and a desire to constantly refine his practice;
Ability to lead staff in professional learning, as evidenced by his work during new teacher induction in recent years.
I congratulate Matt on this fantastic accomplishment, and I am thrilled that he has chosen to take his leadership a step further at ACMS.
This year, on the first day of school, I asked Kevin Greeley to leave his assistant principal position at ACMS to serve as interim principal at Monaco Elementary. For some people, this shift would have been daunting, but not for Kevin. Understanding that teachers are the key ingredient for student success, Kevin immediately went to work forging strong relationships with each staff member. Monaco has truly become a professional learning community where teachers and leaders frequently reflect about their practice, use data to plan and deliver differentiated instruction and solve school problems collaboratively. And Monaco will continue this work with Kevin's official appointment as principal this week.
Kevin has a wealth of experience as a teacher and leader, both in Adams 14 and across the world. Kevin began his career as a high school special education teacher in Hawaii, then he taught middle school math in Pakistan, and later returned to the U.S. to be the learning specialist at Monaco Elementary from 2000 to 2002. Since then, Kevin has worked at the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning (RMSEL), and he most recently held assistant principal positions at both Adams City High School and Adams City Middle School.
Kevin's ability to build trusting relationships with the Adams 14 staff and community is evident. Walking through classrooms with Kevin is so much fun, because he provides teachers with coaching and feedback that is specific, thoughtful and appropriately delivered. It is rare to be in a school where the teachers leave their classrooms to ask for feedback after walk throughs, but that's what happens at Monaco with Kevin. These professional conversations are amazing, and I know they are leading to improvements in teaching practice that will foster student growth. Kevin has also made great efforts to engage the community in the school culture at Monaco. As a result, the school community is focused on student learning as its first priority.
Kevin and Matt, congratulations on your achievements! Our community is lucky to have both of you, and I am honored to deliver this exciting news.
