The Albemarle County School Board has approved the appointment of four elementary school principals. The new school leaders are C’ta DeLaurier, who will become Woodbrook’s principal; Seth Kennard, who will be the principal of Mountain View; Jim Kyner, who will lead Brownsville; and Leslie Wills-Taylor, who will be Stone-Robinson’s next principal. All appointments will be effective July 1.
DeLaurier’s career with Albemarle County Public Schools spans more than 20 years, most recently as principal of Murray Elementary. Her service to public education prior to becoming a principal includes several years as a teacher, interventionist, instructional coach and assistant principal and emphasizes the importance of close partnerships with families and staff. Among her priorities has been developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills among students.
Kennard has served as principal of Baker-Butler Elementary for the past four years, during which time students have improved their reading and math performance. He has been a significant contributor to the update and improvement of division-wide security practices through the implementation of ALICE Training. Prior to joining the division, Kennard was principal of the year for Alexandria City Schools, where he received the Washington Post’s Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. Under his leadership, Charles Barrett Elementary School became a Kennedy Center Art Integration Demonstration School, earned a Virginia Index of Performance Award from Virginia’s Board of Education for the Standards of Learning performance of its students and was named one of the region’s “top elementary schools” by Northern Virginia Magazine.
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Kyner has served as principal of Springs Ranch Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the past seven years. A strong instructional leader, Kyner was responsible for the adoption of a new and effective reading program for the school. His focus on family, student and employee engagement resulted in improved services for the whole school community. Prior to his time in Colorado, Kyner was principal of Charlottesville City Schools’ Greenbrier Elementary. During his time there, the school was named a National Blue Ribbon School and earned a Mid-Atlantic Family Engagement Award. He also served preschool children with high-risk factors through the Virginia Preschool Initiative. Earlier in his career, Kyner served Albemarle schools as an assistant principal at Agnor-Hurt Elementary for three years.
Wills-Taylor joined the Albemarle division as a teaching assistant at Greer Elementary in 2007. She subsequently served as a teacher at Woodbrook Elementary, where she was nominated by the division as its choice for Virginia Teacher of the Year. Wills-Taylor also was an assistant principal intern at Brownsville Elementary, an assistant principal at Meriwether Lewis Elementary, and most recently, an Equity Education Specialist in the central office. During her tenure with the Equity Education team, Wills-Taylor assisted with the development and implementation of the division’s Culturally Responsive Teaching certification and micro-credentialing program.
“All four of these educators share qualities that make them exceptional instructional leaders. Each have proven their effectiveness in developing partnerships with their schools’ communities,” said Clare Keiser, the Assistant Superintendent for Organizational Development.