Principal Spotlight: LEAD Brick Church’s Kathryn McKinzie
LEAD Public Schools is proud to spotlight Kathryn Rice McKinzie, the principal of LEAD Brick Church Middle School. Ms. McKinzie took over as school principal this fall and has already hit the ground running.
“I love working with the Brick team – teachers, staff, families, and students,” Ms. McKinzie said. “We have a great opportunity to really change narratives around what is possible at Brick, for our students, and for education in Nashville. Our team is committed to this work and goes after it with great heart and work ethic. It’s truly a team dedicated to serving others!”
Ms. McKinzie supported the school in various ways in the 2021-22 school year. The students significantly outperformed expectations and earned the highest score a school can achieve on the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System(TVAAS) – a Level 5. The TVAAS is a state test that shows how much students are growing academically compared to their peers.
Ms. McKinzie studied French at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota before earning her Master’s in Education leadership at Louisiana State University.
She began her career teaching high school French and middle and high school Spanish in rural Louisiana. She saw systemic inequities that need to be addressed and decided to get her master’s to have a greater impact on children. She worked in school leadership in several Louisiana schools, including founding her own public charter school serving grades 5-8, before moving to Nashville last year to be closer to family. Ms. McKinzie shares LEAD’s commitment to ensuring every student is ready for college and for life.
“LEAD models a shared commitment to providing educational excellence and equity for ALL students and families. At LEAD, we work as a team to ensure that our students are growing at an accelerated pace and are on track for success in college and life,” McKinzie said.
Ms. McKinzie says it’s also important to know that she is a voracious reader, plays multiple instruments, including handbells, and after living in Louisiana for 20 years, she always travels with hot sauce!
