Kearney Principal Receives National Award  


  • January 27, 2017
  • Carol Smith
Kearney Principal Receives National Award Park Elementary Principal, Katie Mathews, will be announced the 2017 National Distinguished Principal representing Nebraska by the Nebraska Council of School Administrators this Friday.

The National Distinguished Principals program honors outstanding elementary and middle-level administrators who ensure that America’s children acquire a sound foundation for lifelong learning and achievement. Each year, the National Association of Elementary School Principals congratulates principals from across the nation for their exemplary achievements. 

This Friday, December 9, 2016, the Nebraska Council of School Administrators will award Mathews at the Principals’ Conference at the Younes Center. Mathews and her spouse, Mike Mathews, will join 51 other honorees in Washington, D.C. for a dinner hosted by the State Department and a formal Award Dinner October 12 -13, 2017. 

Katie Mathews, Ed. S., Principal of Park Elementary School for over 20 years, was nominated for the award by the Region IV Elementary Principals’ Group. Mathews earned her bachelor’s degree from Hastings College in 1984 and student taught in a multicultural program titled Cooperative Urban Teacher Education in Kansas City, Kansas. In Kansas she taught kindergarten and second grade for six years while obtaining her Master’s Degree in Educational Policy and Administration from Kansas University. From 1990-1996, Mathews served as the Staff Development Specialist at ESU #9 in Hastings, Nebraska while she completed her Specialist’s Degree in the School Superintendency at the University of Nebraska- Kearney. Since 1996, Mathews has served as a building administrator for Kearney Public Schools. In addition, she has been selected for several different leadership training opportunities through Kansas City, Kansas’ Leadership Academy, KCK’s Master Teacher Program, and KCK’s Trainer of Teachers in Drug Prevention Curriculum, UNL’s Leadership in Assessment Cohort, NCSA’s Leadership Cohort with the Gallup Institute, and Grand Island Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Tomorrow.

Katie Mathews has provided leadership at the regional, state and federal levels in professional organizations including Nebraska Association for Elementary School Principals (President, State Representative), Nebraska Association for Supervision and Development (President and Board Member), has served on several boards for the Nebraska Department of Education, Served two terms on the Hastings College Alumni Board of Directors, has led several school districts on the External Evaluation, was an elected member of the Grand Island Board of Education, and served several local boards including the YMCA, UNK Chancellor’s Committee for Skills for Success, Friends of Make-A-Wish Council, Chamber of Commerce Envoys, and Holy Cross Lutheran Church boards. In 2011-2012, Katie Mathews was the Fullbright Scholarship recipient for the International Administrator Exchange with Thailand.

Copyright 2016 Sara Giboney
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