The Children’s Kiva Montessori School Board on Tuesday, May 17, named Susan Likes the new head of the school.
“We are going to accomplish amazing things together, and I look forward to being a part of it,” said Likes.
Likes was hired in July 2014 as finance director. Since January, she has also served as interim head of school, and was given the new position after the board screened more than a dozen applicants.
Board members said they were impressed by Likes’ commitment to the Montessori philosophy and her high expectations for the school, staff, students and herself.
The head of school is responsible for leading the Children’s Kiva Montessori School to ensure excellence in its educational programs, initiating staff and parent support, and implementing the policies and directives of the school board.
She is responsible for maintaining budgetary and financial parameters adopted by the board and monitoring all programs. Other responsibilities are providing educational leadership for the school community; representing the school in public and on campus as the primary contact for parents and community members; hiring, managing, coaching, and evaluating faculty and staff; coordinating the school’s fundraising efforts; and organizing professional development programs based on Montessori principles for faculty and the school community.
Her role is like that of a superintendent. She must manage the facility and finances, oversee instructional and operational staff, engage with students, elevate school culture and morale, represent the school to parents and the community, manage conflict, promote the school, ensure the school meets all local, state, and federal laws, encourage academic and professional excellence, and guide the school toward meeting its goals. One chief administrator recalls his early years at a rapidly growing charter school during which he felt like a “pilot who was trying to fly the plane as it was being built.”
Children’s Kiva also announced a summer partnership with Powerhouse Science Center that will be held at Kiva’s Community Center at 20 N. Beech Street in Cortez. See www.kivacharter.org for more info. The science summer camps are open to the public, ages 8-12, and have limited space.