Kevin Kimberly: Solid Foundations

From an early age, Kevin Kimberly remembers his Paw-Paw telling him to “pass it on.” For many years, Kevin did not understand the depth of this simple phrase, but it has since become his animating ethos. Kevin serves as the principal of Memphis Catholic Middle and High School in Memphis, Tennessee, and is a graduate of the 18th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows. His dedication to educating children reveals a deep internalization of his grandfather’s message and is a living testimony to the value of solid educational foundations. That “pass it on” mantra is what drives the lessons and virtues near and dear to the education a student receives at Memphis Catholic.

Kevin was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he always enjoyed learning in school in the early grades, but viewed “school learning” as something that pertained purely to academic disciplines. School was a place to learn math, social studies, and English, while matters of virtue, morality, and faith were acquired outside the school building. He relied on people like his mother and his grandparents for these “other” forms of learning.

Kevin’s conception of education, though, began to change when he entered the sixth grade. His mother enrolled him in Holy Cross School, a school run by the Congregation of Holy Cross whose mission is to provide an education of the mind, heart, body, and soul. It was there that Kevin saw – and indeed, experienced – that education can be a truly holistic experience. At Holy Cross, Kevin found the intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual facets of his personhood explicitly interwoven into the curriculum. He found that these elements overlapped with one another in ways that he had not realized possible. Students prayed before sports events, socialized with faculty outside the classroom, and discuss religious teachings at service events. Education became something that Kevin could have at every moment of every day.

Kevin carried this appreciation for a holistic education into his undergraduate experience at the University of Notre Dame. While a freshman there, Kevin first heard of a Master in Education program through the Alliance for Catholic Education that would allow him to teach in an under-resourced Catholic school. Even as a freshman, he realized he wanted to make the kind of K-12 education he had received at Holy Cross School possible for other children. So, after four years at Notre Dame, Kevin applied to and became a member of the 18th cohort of ACE Teaching Fellows. He taught middle school English, social studies, and theology at Holy Names of Mary and Jesus Catholic School in Memphis, Tennessee.

At Holy Names, Kevin stressed the words of Father, now Saint, Basil Moreau that "the mind should not be educated at the expense of the heart” to his students. This meant taking time to discuss the importance of faith and morality, even if not in Theology and even if not explicitly a part of the lesson purpose. Kevin learned how to create a curriculum dedicated to the education of the whole person and even utilized this same philosophy in creating a discipline system that centered on students making good choices regardless of who was watching.

After his time in ACE Teaching Fellows, Kevin remained in Memphis at Holy Names and then moved into administration at Memphis Catholic, where he is currently. There, he also continued to hone his own practice in the classroom, teaching a college seminar style course on social justice but now had more of an opportunity to help other teachers do the same.As a principal, Kevin does not see himself as removed from the practice of teaching and helping shape young people. Rather, he conceives of the job as a close partnership with his teachers and has made a commitment to being present in the classroom as much as possible. If anything, he places more pressure on himself to live up to his Paw-Paw’s call to “pass it on” and make sure every student in his school receives the solid foundation which his teachers and family gave him.

Kevin Kimberly served as an AmeriCorps member.