Greensboro Montessori School is delighted to announce Dr. Kevin Navarro has been named head of Greensboro Montessori School. Kevin will assume his role on July 1, 2017.
Throughout the six-month search process, the School's search committee was impressed by Kevin’s passion for children, commitment to education and inclusive approach to leadership. His sincere respect for Greensboro Montessori School revealed itself early when he wrote in his application: “your image of the child, your respect for faculty, your belief in children’s construction of meaning, and your mission … they all resonate deeply with me. My primary goal as an educator is to empower each individual student and staff member to discover and realize their full potential.” Kevin’s personal and professional values align with our School's rich history and current culture, and his exceptional leadership skills and unique ability to articulate the benefits of experiential learning will help carry Greensboro Montessori School well into the future.
Since 2005, Kevin has served as assistant head of school at The College School, a pre-K through eighth grade independent school in St. Louis, Missouri. The College School provides experiential and thematically-integrated education to 260 students on two campuses, a main, suburban campus and a 28-acre property which serves as the “headquarters for learning beyond the classroom” just 30 minutes down the road. The search committee couldn't help but marvel at the synergies between The College School and Greensboro Montessori School and know Kevin’s reverence for learning beyond classroom walls will significantly benefit our students’ academic success and the Greater Greensboro community as a whole.
As assistant head of school at The College School, Kevin currently oversees long-range strategic planning; technology integration in the classroom; curriculum coordination, development and documentation; faculty and staff hiring, onboarding, goal-setting and professional development; internal and external communications; and accreditations with the Independent Schools Association of Central States (ISACS). Prior to joining administration, Kevin taught language arts as a full-time middle school faculty for eight years.
A lifelong student himself, Kevin recently received his doctoral degree in character education and democratic school governance from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. He presented his thesis work, Vulnerable leadership: Definition and relation to effective character education, at the Association of Moral Education symposium at Harvard Graduate School of Education in December of 2016. Kevin also holds a master’s in teaching and a bachelor’s in developmental psychology with minors in educational studies and Russian studies.
Joining Kevin in his move to Greensboro are his wife, Jessica (“Jess”), and three children ages seven, five and two-and-a-half. The entire family is committed to this next step in their lives. Jess is preparing to begin her own doctoral pursuit in social work and plans to attend either the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Greensboro. The kids are looking forward to seeing their cousins beyond their current visits during summer and winter breaks. Kevin’s brothers and their families live in North Carolina, one in Charlotte and the other in Raleigh. The School is confident Kevin, Jess and the kids will contribute to our vibrant community, both as individuals and as a family already dedicated to the mission and values of Greensboro Montessori School.
In our School’s journey to find and hire Kevin, the School's formal search committee completed a methodical and thorough nationwide search in collaboration with Carney, Sandoe & Associates, a recognized educational recruiting firm specializing in independent schools. The search committee first sought input from the entire community on the qualities and skills our School needed in our next head of school. Hundreds completed an online survey and participated in an on-site visit with our dedicated search consultant. Our consultant captured invaluable feedback and crafted a customized position description for our head of school opportunity. After a three-month open application period, the search committee received 20 dossiers from qualified and well-matched candidates. From there, the search committee narrowed the field down to six with whom they conducted Skype-style interviews. They named three finalists who each spent two days on our campus interacting with students, families, faculty and staff.
After his visit and receiving survey feedback from the community, it was evident Kevin possessed an extraordinary combination of professional experience and academic achievement that would provide Greensboro Montessori School with a dynamic leader who has the passion, ability and skill set to gracefully shepherd our students and faculty to new, unprecedented levels of success.
As our community welcomes Kevin, Jess and their children to Greensboro Montessori School, we also want to acknowledge and thank members of the search committee who dedicated countless hours to this process. They channeled their love and commitment to our School to find a leader whom they respect and look forward to working with for many years to come. Most importantly, they wholeheartedly know Kevin is the best leader for the most important people on our campus, our students!
