Kelli Pope is CPSD’s Administrator of the Year

 In the nearly 20 years Kelli Pope has worked for the Clinton Public School District, she has served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.

On Wednesday, she was named the 2017-18 Administrator of the Year in a surprise presentation at Clinton Park Elementary School.

“Clinton Park is the first home of the Clinton Arrows and Mrs. Pope runs a school that not only is academically successful but also welcoming for families entering our school district,” said Dr. Tim Martin, superintendent of schools.

Clinton Park is the Clinton Public School District’s kindergarten and first-grade school. It is an A-rated school, the highest possible academic rating a school can attain.

As principal, Pope recently set up a partnership with the Barksdale Reading Institute to begin a Parent Academy outreach program for parents of pre-school children who will be entering kindergarten in fall 2018. The program covers what children need to know and do to be ready for kindergarten, in literacy, math, and general development.

Under her leadership, Clinton Park also recently began integrating STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math — programs into the curriculum for first-graders.

Pope holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, an educational specialist degree, and a master’s degree in educational leadership, all from Mississippi College. She and her husband Mike have two children who attend Clinton public schools.

She will go on to represent Clinton in the Mississippi Administrator of the Year program this spring hosted by the Mississippi Department of Education.

Photo:

Clinton Park Elementary School Principal Kelli Pope is the Clinton Public School District’s 2017-18 Administrator of the Year. Presenting her award are (from left) Assistant Superintendent Anthony Goins and Superintendent Dr. Tim Martin.