Tates Creek Associate Principal Found Her Niche in Middle School

Associate Principal Kelly Sirginnis of Tates Creek Middle never intended to be an educator. She earned a degree in broadcast journalism and began to substitute teach only to pay off student loans while she attended graduate school.

After subbing for a full year at Winburn Middle in 2001, she returned for another year as a sub. On the first day of school, a student said to her, “You’re what I missed most this summer,” and gave her a hug.

Boom. Sirginnis quit her graduate program and enrolled in another to get a degree in education. She knew teaching was for her.

She stayed five years at Winburn, teaching social studies and language arts before moving to Lincoln County to help open a new school for sixth grade only.

Two years later, she was hired by the Kentucky Department of Education in the Highly Skilled Educator Program where she traveled the state for two years helping teachers and administrators.

After her first child was born – she has three children aged  5, 7 and 9 – she returned to teaching, working one year at Tates Creek Middle. After a year at the central office in the Gifted and Talented Program, she missed Tates Creek and was hired as administrative dean in 2012. Three years later, she was named associate principal and has found her niche.

“I love middle school but I wouldn’t trade any of the other experiences I had in education,” she said. “I saw lots of different perspectives and different schools in all types of situations.”

At Tates Creek, an International Baccalaureate program that focuses on the whole child and the importance of interdisciplinary connections, she helped revamp the grading system. It now has three categories: Progress (homework and practice), Achievement (tests, presentations and projects) and Approaches to Learning Skills, which include persistence, resilience, integrity, and the ability to communicate and work with others.

“This system works well because we can see where problems are such as lack of knowledge or lack of effort,” she said.

Sirginnis realizes that middle school isn’t for everyone but for her it’s the right fit.

“What I like most about the kids is that they can have really deep conversations on serious topics, and they haven’t made up their mind yet,” she said. “They are still open-minded.”