Teaching kids well

Kidwell, CES assistant principal, awarded ‘Oscar of Education’

April 3, 2024 by Michelle Hollenhead Special to The Courier News

Clinton Elementary School Assistant Principal Abbey Kidwell was honored last week with a national award, winning for an array of attributes already well-known to her students, colleagues and administrators.

Kidwell received the Milken Educator Award — which was accompanied by a $25,000 cash prize — during a surprise assembly last Thursday, March 28, at CES.

The award was presented by Dr. Joshua Barnett, CEO of the National Institute for Excellence in Education. He was representing the Milken Family Foundation, which has annually given the award since Lowell Milken created it in 1987.

While as many as 75 educators will receive the award for the 2023-24 school year, Kidwell is the sole Tennessee recipient.

“The foundation scours the nation to acknowledge outstanding unsung heroes for their excellence in leadership in the profession,” noted an event news release. (Specific Milken Educator Award criteria are listed in the accompanying sidebar).

Also present for the assembly was Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds, who praised the honoree.

“Congratulations to Ms. Kidwell on representing the state of Tennessee by receiving the prestigious Milken Educator Award,” said Reynolds. “This well-deserved award is a testament to the impactful service and leadership she demonstrates to her students, community and the educator profession.”

“I am so proud of Abbey for receiving this national recognition,” said Clinton City Schools Director Kelly Johnson. “Her servant leadership and expertise in curriculum/instruction [are] exceptional.”

The award “shows the caliber of her knowledge and professionalism,” Johnson added. “She embraces continuous improvement, and implements ethics in all of her actions. We are beyond blessed to have Abbey Kidwell as part of our team in Clinton City Schools. She is a foundational piece to our overall success.

“Her winning this award is a huge event for both Clinton City Schools and Abbey.”

Students rushed to share their own praises of their assistant principal following the announcement.

“Mrs. Kidwell is so great and amazing because she is always in a great and happy mood and she keeps everyone else in such a positive mood as well,” said sixth-grader Tora Beeler. “She cares for each and every student, and would do anything to help them out.

“She always says ‘good morning’ to me and everyone else with a huge smile on her face.

“She is great, and everyone, including myself, knows it,” Beeler said.

“Mrs. Kidwell comes to my classroom and helps us out,” said sixth-grader Anna Kate Jenkins. “She always welcomes us in the morning with a bright smile and a warm welcome. She loves us so much, and we love her, too.

“She is always appreciated by every student in our school, and she always puts others before herself,” Jenkins said.

Following the announcement, Kidwell said she was “shocked, overwhelmed and honored — and very grateful,” adding, “ I am honored mainly to be serving alongside the people who are all doing the same thing and have the same goals.

“We all just need to keep going, keep learning everything we can to invest in our teachers and our students and keep moving forward, because we still have a lot of work to do.”

A native of Oak Ridge and graduate of Oak Ridge High School, Kidwell earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Carson-Newman University in 2011. That same year, she joined Clinton City Schools as a fourth-grade teacher at South Clinton Elementary.

In 2018, she became assistant principal at CES, and the following year, received her master’s degree in leadership and supervision from the University of Tennessee.

Among her many duties at CES, Kidwell provides instructional leadership to current and incoming CES teachers, and also oversees the Response to Intervention program, visiting classrooms to address students’ individual needs by collaborating with the district instructional coach, the English language arts coach and the math coach to help students reach their maximum potential.

Additionally, Kidwell’s work has contributed to Clinton Elementary’s consistent designation as a Tennessee Reward School for academic growth.

She is described as an “integral part of Clinton Elementary School’s comprehensive educator leadership and support structure, implemented through a partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, helping to drive professional development, collaboration and mentorship across her school and district.”

Kidwell is also leader of the district’s new-teacher academy; she creates a syllabus, provides regular training and check-ins, brings in presenters, and participates in site visits.

“Her impact has led to exciting opportunities to share her expertise on a broader level, including serving on former Gov. Bill Haslam’s Teacher Cabinet and School Safety Working Group as well as presenting at the 2023 institute national conference on increasing the effectiveness of district instructional learning teams,” stated a news release.

Kidwell’s award designation will also send her to an all-expenses-paid Milken Educator Awards forum in June, where she will network with new colleagues alongside veteran Milken educators.

The award also opens her up for regular ongoing mentorship, networking and learning opportunities through the organization.

“I’m very excited about Abbey’s continuous opportunities through this program, for her to learn new skills and knowledge [that] she will be able to bring back to our school district and our kids,” Johnson said.