One of the greatest challenges is to be an organizer. This year has been a tough one for organization as school campuses have been shutdown, re-opened, and shutdown again. It’s enough to drive a person a little crazy. We’ve had to roll with the punches a bit, and no one knows that more than Kim Brown. Kim has been a teacher for many years and is currently the Assistant Director for Sno-Isle TECH. She’s seen a lot this year, and we sat down with her to get a little perspective on what she’s seen in her career and where things are headed into 2021.
Kim received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Special Education from the University of Utah 1989. While attending college she also worked as a Practicum Teacher at a private facility in Salt Lake City that taught autistic children. Once she completed her B.A. degree, she proceeded to complete a Master’s degree in Special Education at St. Mary’s College in California. While completing her Master’s degree, Kim taught special needs children from first to fourth grade and also managed a clinic for research for a brief period.
Over the next four years Kim served as a Learning Support Specialist and Resource Teacher for two smaller elementary schools in Washington. She then joined Kamiak High School in 1996 as a Special Education Teacher. She stayed in this role until 2008 when she changed to the role of teaching Algebra to at-risk students. In 2014 she collaborated with other staff at Kamiak High School to open and coordinate an after-school program to support students in credit recovery.
In 2016 Kim made a change from leading students to leading staff at Kamiak High School. She was appointed Dean of Students and worked to support staff at Kamiak H.S. as well as the 2,000+ students that attend school there. She describes her leadership as, “Servant leadership. The best leadership is that which supports from the sidelines and raises staff and students up to perform the best they can. My joy is in their success, both staff and student. I wholly believe in the power of education in every student’s life and treat them individually wherever possible.” She also has served as the Summer School Principal in 2017 after receiving her principal Certificate in May 2017 from Seattle Pacific University.
You might wonder why she would choose to join Sno-Isle TECH after so many years at Kamiak High School. We thought it would be a tough question to answer, but she didn’t pause when we asked ‘why Sno-Isle TECH’? “I chose Sno-Isle TECH because I was a teacher that passionately referred kids to Sno-Isle TECH for many years. I loved the celebration of seeing those students find success in the career world using the skills they gained while at Sno-Isle. For years, I got to enjoy the partnership of calling and speaking with Sno-Isle staff and admiring what they do. I hope that part of my value-addition to the admin team is to support staff in every way possible; forward the work of maintaining and growing Sno-Isle; and assuring that every student leaves Sno-Isle with skills gained to launch their post-secondary pathway.”
Looking forward, it’s hard to anticipate when fully in-person school will return to the Sno-Isle TECH campus for all classes. Kim said she didn’t have a crystal ball to predict if it will return in this school year. “Sno-Isle TECH follows the county health and state guidelines as they shift, so predicting if all campus classes will return to campus fulltime in the Spring of 2021 would be hard to do. We will continue with the hybrid model currently in place for several classes, until it is safe to have all students return” she said.
Outside of Sno-Isle TECH Kim enjoy various hobbies. She is a snow skier, enjoys time with her family, watching movies, building model trains and crafts, and baking. If you happen to catch her between classes, or need her support, she’ll be there for you. You can find her contact information on the Staff page.
