Powel Elementary Fosters Intellectual Growth, Creativity and Personal Responsibility

Samuel Powel Elementary School, a Kindergarten – 4th grade school with 250 students, is led by Kimberly Ellerbee (2015 Fellow). This “small school with great expectations” welcomed students back this school year to an intentionally designed new space. The school community honored their old building with a grand march from the former building to a ribbon cutting at the new beautiful building. This is just one example of the thoughtful leadership behind every action at Powel.  

Powel students have consistently maintained high levels of proficiency in ELA, math and science. This year students and staff focused on building on that foundation of excellence with an emphasis on social and emotional learning, fun and academics. Kim shared, “We start our school day at 8:25 a.m. and our day ends at 3:25 p.m. It’s a little longer than the average school day because we have built in periods that are devoted to play, recess and mindfulness.” The slightly longer day allows the Powel students and staff to educate the whole child. “I want them to walk away knowing that they’re loved, cared about and valued,” Kim said.    

Read about Kim’s leadership and Powel here.