Well folks - it looks like we have a new principal for Kent Gardens Elementary School. The following announcement was sent out earlier tonight (Friday, Sept. 27) from Cluster 1 leadership. See the content of the e-mail below:
__________________________________________
Dear Kent Gardens Staff and Families,
I am proud to announce that Holly McGuigan has been appointed as principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School, effective October 14, 2013.
Mrs. McGuigan has served as Assistant Principal at Haycock Elementary School for the past three years. Prior to this, she was an advanced academics resource teacher at Spring Hill Elementary School. She also collaborated with Cluster and Pyramid colleagues to support vertical alignment of language arts and mathematics instruction for preK-12 students.
Mrs. McGuigan is eager to work with the highly skilled staff of Kent Gardens Elementary School. She believes, …"providing the opportunity for students to become 21st century learners and thinkers is critical for elementary students as it builds the foundation for each student’s future, and it is also apparent that the parent community has built a robust partnership between the school and staff which has helped shape Kent Gardens into the school it is today."
Mrs. McGuigan brings a wealth of educational experience to Kent Gardens Elementary. Some of her leadership interests include advanced academics, STEM, critical thinking, and staff development. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Math and Economics from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Masters of Arts in Education from Marymount University, and endorsements in Gifted Education and Educational Leadership from the University of Virginia.
Please join me in welcoming Holly McGuigan as the new principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School. She is excited about this opportunity to partner with the students, staff, and parents to continue valued programs!
Sincerely,
Marty K. Smith
Cluster Assistant Superintendent
Cluster 1
_______________________________________
I am most certain the new principal will be welcomed with open arms after the rather hasty departure of Dr. Hooker in late August that caused the school system to scramble. However, what appears to be lacking in her CV are any foreign language skills. We are a French immersion school after all.
Like most parents, I look forward to seeing Mrs. McGuigan's complete bio and resume to get a better understanding of her skills set.
In other news, I hope the new principal digs deep into what many parents believe is psychological operation currently ongoing at Kent Gardens. The children have been exposed to a fundraising scheme called a Boosterathon - which was brought in by the PTA as a school-sponsored event. The company who runs the program is very slick and all the children are running home begging for their parents, grandparents, relatives and complete strangers to pledge a $1.00 a lap they will run for a so-called Camp High Five. Oh, and then during the week other children who have not found sponsors are shamed because they do not "earn" little cheap prizes like their classmates. Folks - it's an ugly mess!
McLean Mama did a little digging and discovered this for-profit enterprise takes a 48 percent cut on every dollar raised by innocent and easily manipulated children. As far as McLean Mama can see there has been no announcement of who gets what for this fundraiser until she did a simple Google search.
Countless children have come home telling their parents the money is going to the school and to feed starving children. Sure, that is true - but 48 percent is going straight back to the Boosterathon businessmen.
We like to see the PTA work with organizations who don't take such a big cut or do programs on their own where there is a bigger ROI - that's return on investment. One parent I know suggested a Bookathon. During a set period of time a child could earn a dollar in pledges for every book they read. And, 100 percent of the donations would go back to the school vice only 52 percent.
What do you think about the new KGES Principal? And, this shady fundraiser called a Boosterathon?
