Kennedy tapped to lead AMS, Partnership School
A crucial asset for the Partnership School has been selected.
Starting in the upcoming school year, Overstreet Elementary School Principal Julie Kennedy will lead Armstrong Middle School. She will move on to the Partnership School at its January 2019 completion. The changes will also see Armstrong Middle School Principal Tim Bourne become principal of Overstreet. Both administrators will begin their new positions as soon as possible.
School Board President Keith Coble confirmed Kennedy's new role to the SDN.
Coble said Superintendent Eddie Peasant wanted to give Kennedy time at Armstrong to build and get to know her team leading up to the Partnership School's opening.
"This is all part of our preparation for the Partnership School,” Coble said.
The board approved the decision 4-0, with Board Vice President Lee Brand absent.
“Mrs. Kennedy is a proven school leader with a knowledge and understanding of the middle grades,” Peasant said. “She's also demonstrated how school culture and climate can significantly impact a school environment as she successfully moved fifth grade from a completely renovated building into the oldest building in the District last summer. Overstreet's success at every level is a reflection of Mrs. Kennedy's leadership, and I expect that to translate to AMS and The Partnership School.”
Kennedy and Bourne began their careers in the district in 2001 as teachers at AMS. They later served as assistant principals there before moving on to lead administrator roles. Both have recently collaborated with district and MSU leaders on the design of the partnership school.
Bourne spent six years as principal of Henderson Elementary when it housed the district's fifth grade students.
“The Partnership School also gives us the opportunity to examine and reimagine how we are preparing our fifth grade students for middle school, and Mr. Bourne's experience at both levels is a tremendous asset to us,” Peasant said.
The $27.5 million Partnership School is currently under construction near the north entrance to the Mississippi State University campus, with funding coming from district, state and MSU sources. At its completion, the school will house the district's sixth and seventh grade students and serve as a laboratory for the MSU College of Education.