New Preschool–8 Assistant Principal Brings Rich Experience to Principia
You could say that Principia’s new Preschool–8 assistant principal got her start as an educator around the family dining table . . . While growing up in rural Wisconsin, Dr. Kimiko Ott recalls, she enjoyed helping her siblings with their homework—after they’d completed their daily chores on the family farm.
Teaching and learning is “a part of who I am, . . . and I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” says Dr. Ott, who moved to St. Louis from Wisconsin in early August to take up her post at Principia. Diving right in, she led several sessions with the Lower and Middle School teams during the two weeks of teacher professional development and planning that preceded the start of school.
Ott brings with her nearly three decades of experience as an educator along with a deep-seated commitment to educational equity and access for all students. She spent nearly 15 years as an elementary school teacher (mainly in first grade), obtaining an MS in reading education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh during that time and serving as a reading specialist and resource teacher for gifted and talented students. Her experience during these years cemented her interest and expertise in childhood literacy and in improving teaching strategies and practices across the curriculum.
After serving as an elementary school principal in three different districts for about six years, Ott was recruited to serve in several district-wide positions in Milwaukee and Madison, including director of teaching and learning; executive director of curriculum and instruction; and director of equity and student achievement.
During this time, Ott says, “I was doing a lot of thinking about what wasn’t working for children in education—despite so many good teachers in place and so much great research.”
Why aren’t our schools successful? Why are some of our children not learning? What’s happening in the classroom? Such questions drove her to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ott says, in order to investigate more deeply “what’s needed to really move us forward, to expand thought and to push educators outside of their comfort zone and focus on what kids need to be successful, to be valued, and to be cherished.”
Both her practical experience and her research led her back consistently to the concept of coherence: “Students need coherence in instruction, and to do that we have to have consistency in practice, in how we implement, and in how we assess,” Ott says. Clarity of instruction, fidelity in implementing effective strategies and programs, and the ability to “apply knowledge in the classroom to create relevant, purposeful, intentional, engaging learning experiences for children” are very important to her. In fact, she explored them in her dissertation, The Role of Curriculum Directors in Wisconsin Public Schools: Factors That Advance Teaching and Learning.
And while Ott was engaged in all this, she was also raising three children—the two oldest of whom live and work in Wisconsin, while the youngest, Mary Kathryn, has started as a junior at the Upper School.
Ott has spent the last few years on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in education, as well as continuing scholarly research and supervising practicum students.
Given the reconfiguration of classes and curriculum that took place shortly before her arrival at Principia, Ott plans to focus on three main areas in her first few months:
- Creating a culture of family that includes our 3- to 4-year-olds all the way up through eighth grade
- Putting in place strategies and routines to create that sense of community
- Supporting and encouraging collaboration to help teachers work in new ways that create a “dynamic, demanding, engaging curriculum”
Ott intends to spend two to three hours each day in classrooms, observing and supporting teachers by being both a learner and a coach and reinforcing the benefits of teamwork and collaboration. Principal Travis Brantingham is delighted to have Ott leading the Lower and Middle School teams and believes that her depth of experience at so many different levels of the educational system will add great value to Principia’s students and teachers.