Kim Kirk

I attribute my success to hard work and learning from others, both what to do and what not to do. I've had great people around me, and I've learned all the things I shouldn't do and so many things that I should do from just watching and seeing what others around me or people that I've worked for or worked with in my past have done. Those are probably my best teachers. Looking back over 33 years, I hope that I have really helped and changed students' lives over the course of my career, because that's really what it's all about, just trying to help others, and that's what keeps me going.

The best career advice I've ever received is to never be afraid to admit when you're wrong and ask questions and become vulnerable. I think that makes you a better leader when you can admit to being wrong, making mistakes, and make yourself vulnerable in front of the people you're trying to lead. Many times that has proven true in my career.

I would say, don't be too quick about changing career paths if you're a teacher. Enjoy the teaching part and really just know that you really are there to make a difference. One of the biggest things that I talk about now is that in this field, it's really easy to take care of other people's kids more than your own and other people's families more than your own. So I would make sure that on the front end, they realize that they have to take care of their families first and their kids first, because it's very easy to get involved with others. Really just know that I feel like education's a calling and that you really are truly making a difference. As an educator, you have so much power, and I think many times educators forget how much power they have. You can be such a positive aspect in someone's life, and you can be just as much of a negative one.

The biggest challenges right now are that an article came out yesterday about Tennessee leading the nation in number of teachers who are leaving the profession. The challenge of mental health and behaviors with students are just an ongoing big challenge, and then when you look at safety and the well-being of everyone, that's an ongoing, difficult challenge for all educators. I value education so much, and I think families should be able to choose the best education path for their student. But I also value public education as a place that can really work hard to meet needs of students who have no other place to go. I'm a big advocate of public education.

I always say work is a verb. I think that sometimes we deal with people that really don't understand that work is truly work, but I really value honesty and integrity. I value open conversations, and I always tell people, you know, we can agree to disagree, but when you walk out of my door, we're gonna be fine. I value family and taking care of those who helped get you where you are. Those are the big ones for me. Another thing that I really get caught up in is that we've gotten into a time where testing and numbers matter so much that sometimes I really struggle with the fact that I feel like numbers get in the way of humans. As educators, we always need to make sure that we are dealing with the human first and the numbers come later.