Abilene High associate principal Dr. Kelli Powell is new to AHS and Abilene ISD, but she’s certainly not new to the world of public education.
Now in her 33rd year of education, Powell has seen and done almost everything there is to see and do on campus, in a classroom, or in a meeting room. When she met with AHS principal Emme Siburt a few months ago to talk about Powell joining the AHS administrative staff, she knew what she was looking for in a principal.
“First of all, I was very impressed with Mrs. Siburt when we talked about this job,” Powell said recently. “I’ve become even more impressed, especially by her loyalty to her staff. Finding someone in this business that you know will support and back you is a good find. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that finding someone like that isn’t always easy.
“She also had a clear vision for this job and the direction of the campus,” Powell said of Siburt. “When you have that clear direction and vision from your leadership and know they’ll support you, it makes the transition easier.”
Powell and her family have been through plenty of change and transition over the last few months, not the least of which was her move from Central Texas (Temple High School) to West Texas and Abilene High. Powell and her husband decided now was the time to move to Abilene to help with her aging parents, especially now that their youngest child has graduated. To top it off, she and her husband became first-time grandparents in late September.
“This transition [from Temple to Abilene High] has moved quickly,” she said. “I always tell people that I feel like I’ve been through a tsunami or something like that. And that’s not just the job, but all the changes in my life. We’ve had a lot of life changes.”
One place where Powell has always been comfortable, however, is on a campus. In a classroom. Teaching. Tutoring. Helping. She has a vast array of experience, ranging from Curriculum and Instruction work to secondary ELA teacher to associate principal at Temple High School for five years before moving to Abilene in January 2019 and joining the AHS staff.
“I come with a wide range of experiences,” Powell said. “I think [Mrs. Siburt] wanted me to step in and work with special education and some academic programming pieces, which aligns with my background. I put together a master schedule, so I believe [Mrs. Siburt] believed there were things she could release to me that maybe she had been trying to manage as principal. This is a big campus, and a lot is going on. And it’s a successful campus in terms of athletics and strong academics, so that’s a lot of plates for one person to spin. Knowing you can hand off a few things is very helpful.”
Her experience also tells her that when moving into a new job, the best thing to do is to watch and learn before immediately making any changes.
“My approach when I’ve changed positions or schools has been to walk in and observe a little bit and only change if I’m changing anything is because it’s a necessity change, not a preferential change,” Powell said. “Even though there might be things I prefer, those are things that don’t have to be done right away.
“Sometimes, there are changes that need to be made out of necessity … maybe we’ve been doing things one way for a long time, but things have changed,” she said. “Perhaps laws have changed, and we have to shift to align with that. To me, that’s a necessary change. My approach is to really come in and learn and only address something if it has to be changed.”
One area of concentration for Powell is assessment and accountability on the AHS campus, and she likes where this year’s group of freshmen – who were in the fifth grade in the 2019-20 school year when COVID shut down schools in March – is trending.
“This group seems to be moving in the right direction,” she said. “I see some strong things happening in the data, and the general behaviors seem positive. I don’t have anything to compare it to here at Abilene High, but that’s what I’m seeing now. Perhaps we’re starting to see the COVID cobwebs dusted off, and maybe our kids are beginning to turn a corner. We’re certainly not done; we have some years left to recoup our systems and perhaps even revamp a few things. I believe COVID shined a light on many areas where we can grow.
“But, overall, I’ve enjoyed being at Abilene High,” Powell said. “I’ve found Abilene High School kids are really quite fun to be around. When we’re at games, there’s a great mix of kids. They’re there to enjoy the game and to enjoy being in a group and class with their friends.”