Kim Marshall began his career in 1969 teaching sixth graders in a Boston
middle school. He used "learning stations" with some success, wrote curriculum
materials for his students, gave workshops for teachers in the Boston area, and
began to write articles on classroom and school innovation (see list below).
During Boston's desegregation crisis in the mid-1970's, Kim became
increasingly involved in schoolwide change efforts, delved into the new research
on effective urban schools, and eventually went to graduate school for a year to
prepare to become a principal.
But a 1980 Massachusetts tax-cutting referendum closed 27 Boston schools, and
Kim found himself in the district's central office, first as a policy adviser
and speechwriter for Superintendent Robert Spillane, then leading a team that
wrote new curriculum objectives for the district, and finally serving as
director of curriculum and planning.
In 1987, Kim finally got his wish and was made a principal. As leader of the
Mather Elementary School for the next 15 years, Kim and his colleagues brought
about significant improvements in student achievement, teacher effectiveness,
and the quality of the curriculum.
Kim now works for New Leaders for New Schools (www.nlns.org), a non-profit that recruits,
trains, and supports urban principals. Kim coaches new principals in New York
City, with a special focus on improving teacher supervision and evaluation and
the effective implementation of interim assessments. He also gives workshops and
courses to aspiring and practicing school leaders in a number of venues.
Kim and his wife, Rhoda Schneider, have two children - a daughter teaching
English in a Boston high school and a son teaching history in a high school in
the San Francisco Bay area.
