Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick, right, is congratulated by Meridian Public School District Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor on being named the school district's 2012 Administrator of the Year. 

    The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines’ Day gift.

    Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District’s 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor.

    “I couldn’t believe it; but, I really am honored to have received such an award,” she said.

     Kendrick was selected for the honor based on the tremendous growth Crestwood showed on the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition, which was given in May 2011. Crestwood had a Quality Distribution Index (the score used by the MCT2 test to measure school performance) of 105 in the 2009-10 school year, and Kendrick was able to guide her school to raise that score 19 points, to a 124 in the 2010-11 school year. Under her leadership, the elementary school had the highest percentage of growth for the whole Meridian Public School District.

    “Ms. Kendrick truly exemplifies the four goals that our district is working hard to achieve,” Taylor said. “Her school is a great example of one working hard to ensure safe and orderly schools, improving student achievement, increasing accountability, and strengthening community relations. She is helping the Meridian Public School District by making positive strides daily.”

     Kendrick is quick to note that Crestwood’s achievements are not the efforts of one, but many.

    “My faculty and staff work so hard; this award is really their honor,” she said. “The criteria for the award is based on how much growth the school has achieved, and without their hard work and dedication, it would not be possible.”

    This is Kendrick’s second year as principal of Crestwood Elementary School. She began her career in education as a teacher at Alberta Elementary in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Nine years later, she was promoted to assistant principal of Eastwood Middle School in Tuscaloosa, where she served four years.

    “It was always a goal of mine to return to Meridian to serve the community that nurtured me as a child,” Kendrick said. “I am happy to be here, at Crestwood Elementary, doing just that.”     

    Kendrick earned a bachelor of arts degree and master’s degree from the University of Alabama. She is a member of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

    In addition to her being a product of the Meridian Public School District, Kendrick is deeply rooted in Meridian’s education system through her parents, Donna Kendrick and the late Houston Kendrick. Her mother taught computer keyboarding at Meridian High School as well as typing in the Quitman Public School District. Her father served as principal of West End-Harris Elementary School, as well as CPI administrator in the Sumter County Public School District.