Kim Wargo Professional Experience Associate Head of School, Isidore
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Kim Wargo Professional Experience Associate Head of School, Isidore Newman School, New Orleans, LA. July 2017 –present. Isidore Newman School, founded in 1903, is a co-educational day school that serves approximately 1200 students aged six weeks through 12th grade. Selected Responsibilities: • Serve as partner with Head of School, overseeing the daily operations of the school. • Oversee entirety of the school’s academic and student programs, including hiring, professional development, and evaluation. All division heads (Director of Green Trees Early Childhood Village; Lower School Head; Middle School Head; Upper School Head; Athletic Director; Dean of the Arts) are direct reports. • Responsible for the school’s self-study in 2018-19, in preparation for reaccreditation in 2019-20. • Co-chair of joint task force of Board-Faculty-Administration to develop the “Newman Principles for Civil Discourse,” an all-school initiative, 2018-19. • Co-chair of joint task force of Board-Faculty-Administration to develop Newman’s new mission statement, 2018-19. Head of School, GEMS World Academy-Chicago, Chicago, IL. July 2016-June 2017. GEMS World Academy-Chicago was founded in 2014. GEMS Education is an international company providing education to students around the world. The Chicago campus is its only U.S. school. Initiatives: • Continued the work of building the school from a PK-8th grade program into a fully integrated early childhood through 12th grade program. • Oversight of candidacy process for Middle Years Program (MYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB). Eugene McDermott Headmistress, The Hockaday School, Dallas, TX. July 2011 – June 2015. The Hockaday School, founded in 1913, is a day/boarding school for Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade girls. Located in the Hockaday neighborhood of North Dallas, Hockaday enrolls 1,080 girls. Selected Accomplishments and Initiatives: • Continued the quiet phase and launched the public phase of the Centennial Campaign for Hockaday’s second century. During my tenure, we raised $56 million of the $100 million goal for a total of $86 million as of June 2015. Fundraising efforts supported the following building projects and initiatives: ! Spearheaded the first major renovation and expansion of the School’s boarding facilities since their construction in 1961. Secured the lead gift of $2.5 million and successfully launched and led a matching campaign from boarding alumnae and parents. Revamped the residential program and staffing to include full-time residential faculty who live in apartments in the dormitory, thereby significantly increasing satisfaction of boarding students and parents about the Hockaday residential experience. ! Revamped existing square footage in the Liza Lee Academic Research Center to create a Student Publications suite, a Debate suite, and new photography labs and studios. ! Built and opened a state-of-the-art Science Center (Phase I of Centennial Center) that includes interdisciplinary spaces to support STEAM curriculum and programming. ! Secured the $6 million lead gift for the state-of the-art Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Center for the Arts (Phase II of Centennial Center), which ensured that the project could go forward with construction beginning in March 2015. This project had been planned, but unfunded, for almost 20 years. ! Secured numerous endowment gifts, including the $3 million gift from the Dean Learning Center to create the Dr. William B. Dean Endowment Fund for Service Learning and Academic Learning Support. • Led the School in the celebration of its Centennial in 2013-14. This yearlong celebration brought more than 2500 constituents to campus for various events celebrating the School’s history. • Led an inclusive, comprehensive strategic planning process to align with the School’s self-study for reaccreditation. The strategic planning process involved over 500 constituents and resulted in “Hockaday 2020,” a strategic plan approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2015. • Expanded the School’s global education, diversity and inclusion efforts, including creation of the Center for Global Citizenship, and the positions of Director of Inclusion and Community and Director of Service Learning. Supported creation of global exchange program with schools in Australia, Argentina, and Taiwan. Created the annual Day of Service for all students in PreK-12th grade to participate in cross-divisional service projects in the Dallas area. Head of School, Katherine Delmar Burke School, San Francisco, CA. July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2011. The Katherine Delmar Burke School, founded in 1908, is a school for Kindergarten-8th grade girls. Located adjacent to Lincoln Park and Land’s End in the northwest corner of the city, Burke’s enrolls 400 girls. Selected Accomplishments and Initiatives: • Worked with a selected team of faculty and administrators to design a Faculty Evaluation and Professional Growth system, implemented in the fall of 2009. • Reframed the professional development process and budgets to support articulated institutional priorities around 21st Century Teaching and Learning and Wellness, as well as school wide and division specific curricular initiatives in the areas of writing, reading, and mathematics. • Instituted a weekly thought column for the school’s newsletter to articulate school priorities, support parent education, and build support for programmatic and institutional changes. • Oversaw the development of a Speaker Series, sponsored by the Parent Education committee of the Parents’ Association, to establish Burke’s as a thought leader among our peer schools. • From July-December 2008, completed fundraising of the final $1.25 million of a $12 million capital campaign, the Second Century Project, which provided a new arts and sciences building and renovation of the School Library and Upper School classrooms. • Spearheaded a 21% increase in giving to the Annual Fund and increased faculty/staff participation in the Annual Fund from 30% to 95%. • Oversaw the development of a new admissions viewbook and marketing materials to strengthen the school’s brand and articulate a clear mission and purpose to the wider San Francisco community. Head of the Upper School, Louise S. McGehee School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2001 – June 2008. The Louise S. McGehee School was founded in 1912 as a college–preparatory school for young women. Located in the historic Garden District, today McGehee serves almost 500 girls, preK through 12th grade As Head of the Upper School: • Responsible for the Upper School in its entirety, including management of faculty and administration, development of curriculum and oversight of budget. • Worked with the Head of School and Director of Admissions to increase the enrollment of the Upper School from 125 students (2001) to 160 students (2005). • Initiated a weekly newsletter for parents in the Upper School to enhance communication and school- parent partnership. • With Upper School Faculty, revised the history/government curriculum to turn the period immediately after Katrina into a learning laboratory for students on the intersection of federal, state, and local government. In January 2007, worked with government teacher to empower students to create a lobbying outreach effort to Congress on our annual D.C. trip – “Students of the Storm.” As a member of the Senior Administrative Team: • Member of the Strategic Planning Team, 2002 and 2007. • Initiated and chaired the Campus Security Committee and authored the campus wide daily security and crisis management plan. • Acted as one of five key administrators working with the Head of School in Houston to manage the School’s response and reopening after Hurricane Katrina. Served as the first administrator to return permanently to New Orleans in preparation for our re-opening, October 24, 2005, working to re- deploy and schedule teachers, manage re-enrollment of students, and communicate with families. 2 Director of College Counseling, Louise S. McGehee School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2000- 2002. History Department Chair, Louise S. McGehee School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1998- 2001. Middle and Upper School Teacher, Louise S. McGehee School, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1997- 2001. Lower and Middle School Teacher, Hill School of Ft. Worth, Texas, 1996-1997. The Hill School is a co-ed day school, grades 2-12, focusing on educating students of above average intelligence with learning differences. Senior Worker’s Compensation Claims Specialist, Aetna Insurance Company, Metairie, Louisiana, 1990-1991. Honors and Awards • National Association of Independent Schools Fellowship for Aspiring Heads, (E.E. Ford Fellow), 2006- 2007. • Spectator Appreciation and Dedication (school yearbook), selected by seniors and school community, 2001, 2006, and 2008. • Peggy McGehee Wisdom Distinguished Faculty Award, summer 2000. • Teacher of the Year, Hill School of Ft. Worth, Texas, 1996-1997. • Peter Cominos Prize for the best graduate student paper of publishable quality, 1993 and 1994, awarded by Tulane University Department of History. Selected Professional Activities and Conference Participation • Educational Records Bureau, Board of Trustees, beginning January 2013 – present. • Elected by independent school peers to Country Day School Headmasters Association (CDSHA), 2014-15. • Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS), Board of Directors, 2014-2015. • Southwest Preparatory Athletics Conference (SPC), Executive Committee, 2014-2015. • National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS),