Kathryn (Kadie) Wilson is the former Assistant Superintendent of Schools for a set of rural districts located in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire. She is an experienced educational leader committed to transforming learning systems through the implementation of personalized, competency-based structures.

Kadie earned her BA in Elementary and Special education from Providence College, an MA in Educational Leadership from Framingham State University, and a CAGS in Advanced Educational Leadership from the University of New England. She completed her doctoral studies at Northeastern University, earning her EdD in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leading.

Kadie is passionate about the potential for high-quality performance assessment to create more equitable educational systems aligned to the needs of today’s students. Her dissertation, “Shifting the Nature of Teaching and Learning with Performance Assessment” allowed her to build skill with action research while identifying the conditions necessary to affect change within her local context.  

Kadie lives in North Conway, New Hampshire with her husband, Tom, and their Bernese mountain dog, Rocky. When not working, she loves spending time golfing, skiing, hiking, and baking.

How do you think about catalyzing change?

While transforming an organization as large and ingrained in ways of the past as education can seem overwhelming, one small spark has the potential to create a roaring fire. As an educator who is committed to challenging the status quo, I have seen the power of that one spark in action. When we cultivate safe learning communities in which educators have permission to think and act differently, we can turn sparks into flames. We also need to put fuel on the fire at the systems levels. This means looking at policies, practices, and structures that either support or inhibit student-centered learning environments. By recognizing the complex relationships within educational systems, and the unique contexts of individual districts, we can leverage what we know about change to actualize our goals for equitable learning outcomes.

What does it mean to prioritize equity in transforming education?

When we prioritize equity in educational transformation, we take purposeful action to ensure barriers are removed. This can take so many forms. It involves broadening our definitions of success and communicating student achievement using metrics beyond standardized assessments. It means amplifying learners' voices so they contribute meaningfully to what they learn, how they learn, and how they show what they know. It also means recognizing the layers within public education systems and using data to challenge systems, structures, and policies that get in the way of learners accessing rigorous, engaging experiences. Prioritizing equity means we ask learners what they think and need; then doing something with what we learn.