Abbey Kidwell begins her mornings doing what she says is one of her favorite parts of the day: greeting students and families outside of North Clinton Elementary School, where she serves as the principal. A former fourth grade teacher and assistant principal for Clinton City Schools, Kidwell draws from her own classroom experience to guide her as an instructional leader. She oversees the daily ins and outs of the building, and leverages the district's partnership with NIET to maximize building professional capacity in her teachers. She collaborates regularly with the district's Instructional Coach and collaborates monthly with the District Instructional Leadership Team to continue to grow in her capacity to lead as the building's instructional leader. Actively involved in data meetings and RTI meetings, she works with grade level teams to make data-driven, intentional moves to meet individual student needs. By monitoring data meetings and follow-ups for hundreds of students, she pinpoints where extra supports may be needed and directs action plans. She values relationships and building rapport within the North Clinton Community, striving to actively include families in the school community and in the education of their students.
Kidwell is an integral part of North Clinton Elementary School’s comprehensive educator leadership and support structure, implemented through a partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET). A thoughtful, informed decision-maker on the building's leadership team with the instructional coach, Kidwell helps drive professional development, collaboration and mentorship across her school and district. Kidwell is always on the move, supporting new and veteran teachers alike by providing meaningful feedback on best practices using the common language of the TEAM Rubric and helping supervise the transfer of learning to the classroom. She works collaboratively with the instructional coach to ensure that the culture of continuous learning, reflection, and coachability is pulsing through the building through meaningful, student-work driven PLCs. As leader of the district’s new teacher academy, she creates a syllabus, provides regular trainings and check-ins, brings in presenters, and participates in site visits. Her belief in the profession and growing aspiring teachers is also leveraged through her work as a mentor at the Smoky Mountain Teachers of Promise Summitt. Her impact has led to exciting opportunities to share her expertise on a broader level, including serving on former Governor Bill Haslam’s Teacher Cabinet and School Safety Working Group as well as presenting at the 2023 NIET National Conference on increasing the effectiveness of district instructional learning teams. Sh
A positive force and role model in the community, Kidwell presents to members of the Chamber of Commerce during their visits to Clinton and works closely with the Rotary Club. She expresses her dedication to students daily during the afternoon announcement: “and remember, I love you very much.”
Kidwell earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and Spanish from Carson-Newman University in 2011 and a master’s degree in leadership and supervision from the University of Tennessee in 2019.
Press release: Clinton Elementary Assistant Principal Gets Surprise of a Lifetime with $25,000 Milken Educator Award
