Don’t let the title scare you, Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong, Portland Public Schools’ new superintendent is a Portlander just like the rest.
Armstrong served as Portland’s chief academic officer starting in 2022 for 15 months, and will now be the first Black woman in the lead role for the district.
For the past year she has served as deputy superintendent of Evergreen Public Schools in Vancouver, Washington, but now she’s more than ready to be back in Rose City.
In a Q&A, Armstrong discusses her love for candy, defines what a thriving school district means to her and more.
Q: What brought you back to Portland, and how does it feel being back?
A: Oh man, I feel so connected to the city. I feel like this is where my heart is. It’s a place where I want to spend the rest of my career in education and it feels amazing to be back. It feels like all of the decision that I’ve made, all the career choices that I’ve made, have led me to this particular moment in time and I just kind of want to bask in that for a little bit.
Q: How do you lived experiences — as a mother, teacher, basketball coach, woman — shape your role as superintendent?
A: I will say that our background and experiences sort of create this roadmap or this identity that we sit in as humans. Leadership style it isn’t just like a textbook, it’s informed by personal experiences, tragedies, traumas, and I will say, if I were to tie a ribbon around my experiences, the ribbon, if it had letters, it would say resiliency from hardships.
I share with people often that I’m a cancer survivor. I went through chemo and radiation about 14 years ago, and when you go through a process like that, it really has you sort of anchor and align your hopes and dreams in that way that has you wanting to move pretty quickly to get to where you want to be.
I think that all of the experiences that I have benefitted from, that I’ve been impacted by, all contributed to me being the person who shows up every day and I think I would say, and I would hope others say, that I live in my authentic self.
Q: How are you feeling about the school year? What are you excited and/or nervous for?
A: I’m excited to be able to bring a different style and element to my leadership in a way that rallies our community, our teachers, our staff, to be a part of this mission. My theme is “Together We Rise” and it’s grounded in collectivism and who we are as people together in a community mission.
What I worry about, honestly, is our resources and making sure that the programs and services that we’re designing are sustainable overtime. I also worry about the decline, and I want our community and our families to know that Portland is a very special place and we need to do everything we can to not only attract people to this area, but bring them back into public schools.
Q: For you, what defines a thriving school school district?
A: A thriving school district is a district that is rich in resources, respects all employees, has evidence of academic achievement and progress and is a system that a community can be excited about. Our schools belong to our communities, and I want our communities to be excited about all of our schools.
Q: What can students, parents and staff expect in terms of your leadership style?
A: You can expect that I’m reachable and that I will be out in the field, I will be in classrooms, I will be at games, I’ll be at performances, I will send videos out as much as possible and if they are opportunities to do podcasts, I want to do that.
I want our message to be a singular message and I want my messages to be informed by what I’m hearing and what I’m seeing and what I’m experiencing. So, the only way to speak as one voice is to understand the different narrative and different voices — that’s the expectation I have for myself and that’s the expectation I want staff, parents and community to have for me.
Q: If you can give advice, in a sentence or two, what might you tell someone interested in a career in education?
A: I would say that education isn’t an easy choice, but it’s the absolute right choice. We have the opportunity to save lives through education.
Q: Could you described any hobbies that you have? Talents?
A: I was a basketball coach, so I like to think I have a good left hand.
I’m a die-hard, season ticket holder, 49ers fan.
I published a book a year ago called “Intersectional Leadership: Strategies for Building Resilient Workforces” and it talks about some of the things that I believe that organizations need to have in place to elevate people of all backgrounds.
I love candy, Bit O’Honey, I’m a chocolate and peanut butter fan, I think it’s the peanut butter flavor in the Bit O’Honey that I like.
I want the community to know that I live in this city, I’m a supporter of small businesses, I want to know people, I want to walk the streets of Portland and I truly want to be a part of Portland.
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