UES Welcomes Jim Kennedy as New Principal
Jim Kennedy, an educator with a record of innovative work in schools
throughout Los Angeles, joined UES as principal on July 1, 2007. He holds
the Carol L. Collins UES Principal's Chair.
Most recently, Kennedy served as principal of Magnolia Avenue School in the Pico Union area of Los Angeles. Bilingual in English and Spanish, he strengthened programs by building connections between the school and the community, supporting teacher collaboration, and analyzing instructional practices, particularly in the area of learning two languages. Prior to Magnolia, Kennedy was principal of Vintage Magnet School in North Hills, a math/science/technology magnet school with a highly diverse student population.
"Jim Kennedy brings to UES an excellent record of achievement in elementary education and administration," said Aimée Dorr, dean of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA. "His experience with diverse students and families, his work in leading teacher development, and his interest in fostering research are an excellent fit for the laboratory school."
"I am enthusiastically looking forward to participating in the great work UES does," Kennedy said. "It is an honor to lead a lab school, attached to a university, with the rich traditions and history of UES. I also understand there's more that can be done, and that's exciting."
Kennedy earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara; he received his master's in education (school administration) and his doctorate in education (education leadership) from UCLA. He holds a clear multiple-subject teaching credential and a professional administrative services credential and is certified in bilingual cross-cultural language acquisition and development.
Apart from a passion for developing literacy in more than one language, Kennedy has a special interest in the teaching of elementary mathematics. For a time he supervised the mathematics program at various elementary schools in the LAUSD, and he has taught math methods and elementary research methods courses at California State University, Northridge to teachers and aspiring administrators.