Building Community at Kendall Elementary School: A Conversation with Principal Kevin Watson
In our latest episode of NYKids Deep Dive, Assistant Director of Research at NYKids, Aaron Leo, sits down with Kevin Watson, principal of Kendall Elementary School – one the positive outlier schools featured in NYKids’ latest study!
During the episode, Principal Watson recounts a number of ways that he and staff members at Kendall have built ties to the community and strengthened the relationship between the school, local businesses and organizations, and families.
A few highlights include:
How to grow community partnerships through trust and openness
Principal Watson explained leaders should never be “afraid to reach out” to make connections with stakeholders in the community. These partnerships, Principal Watson explained, grow out of consistent and open communication. “We have a community that trusts us. They love what the school does, they support us, we do consider ourselves partners,” he explained.
The school as the “hub of the community”
In a rural setting, Principal Watson explained how the school proudly serves as the “hub of the community.” School and district leaders have leaned into this role and created a range of activities and programs to engage students their families including: bike rides to school, trips to Lake Ontario hosted by the Sheriff’s Office, and a new state-of-the-art playground designed with student input.
Taking “strategic risks” to innovate
Through what he calls “strategic risks,” Principal Watson described the importance of trying new ideas and seeking out new opportunities to innovate and improve existing practices. One example is the “color run” celebration which replaced the traditional graduation ceremony for 6th graders. In this ceremony, teachers, staff, and students cheer each other on and shower one another with colorful powder.
Similarly, Principal Watson explained those seeking to improve cannot be deterred by the fear of failure. “Through failure, I think good things do come out,” he explained.
Letting kids lead the way
At Kendall, kids are taking leadership roles – from running a student-led coffeeshop to voting on aspects of the school that they would like to see changed. “Elementary kids have great ideas,” said Principal Watson as he explained a recent “Principal for a Day” initiative where students were invited to vote for a staff member to be the school principal for a full school day.
When trying new things, Principal Watson notes, “It always starts from a place of: How is this going to benefit kids?”
Listen to the full episode here! Keep up with the latest on NYKids by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky!
You can read more about Kendall Elementary School in our full case study report here.
