Meet Karen Powell
Karen joined Churchill Community High School and Continuing Education after seven years as one of Royal Oak High School’s Assistant Principals. Karen graduated from Eastern Michigan University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in Earth/Space and General Sciences. She later went on to complete her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership at Madonna University.
Karen spent her first year of teaching in Newport News, Virginia. While there she was involved with the Virginia State Science Fair and coached track and field. After one year she made the decision to return to Michigan and began teaching at Community High School for Romulus Community Schools. Community High School was the alternative high school in the district and it is there that Karen felt her connection with working with students that benefit from a nontraditional school setting. Karen spent eight years at Community High School where she encouraged her students to take advantage of the opportunities available to them and to create their own. She was actively involved in both professional and student centered leadership opportunities including speaking at two Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies national conferences and holding a school and community fundraiser for a local organization, Children with Hair Loss. Her dedication to her students and craft was recognized in 2007 when Karen was the recipient of Michigan Alternative Education Organization’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year.
Karen began her administrative career as an assistant principal at Romulus High School, spending three years there prior to coming to Royal Oak Schools. She believes as a school leader it is important to support the continued growth of teachers’ instructional practices. In Romulus, she was a key member of the District Teacher Evaluation Committee, a group of teachers and administrators that both developed a growth tool and created a framework to allow for the improvement around best practices in classroom instruction to improve student outcomes. In Royal Oak she continued to build on her commitment to enhancing teaching practices and launched the Teacher Lab program, a job-embedded professional learning opportunity for teachers to take away instructional practices from observing their colleagues teaching and engaging in professional dialogue. Also, Karen’s efforts related to Cultures of Thinking and Visible Thinking Routines, further benefited teaching and learning, encouraging teachers to ingrain them into their practices leading students to be more aware of their thinking and supporting it.
Karen believes in possibilities and knows with support all students have the ability to reach their goals. She places an emphasis on relationships and embraces varied experiences and perspectives. Karen is a champion of students and is sensitive to individual student needs. She looks forward to continuing her work, finding opportunities and helping students reach their goals at Churchill Community High School and Continuing Education.