Her Story
About Kimberly
Kimberly Yarlott has been working in education since 1990. She began her career as an elementary education teacher, instructing preschool through third grade. In 2005, she became an assistant principal in another town and later served as a principal for 16 years. She then spent 4 years as an assistant superintendent before retiring and transitioning into consulting work this summer. She now serves as a consultant with Demonstrated Success, where she works with schools in need of improvement on curriculum development initiatives across New England. Kimberly holds a bachelor's degree in education, a master's degree in education leadership, and a CAGS, which is a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies. In 2017, she was named the New Hampshire Elementary Principal of the Year. She is a member of ASCD, the National Association for School Administrators, and serves on the board of trustees for ISN and Suresque.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kimberly
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have a lot of credibility with educators, with teachers, I think having been a teacher first, there's a lot of compassion and empathy, but also a lot of trust that I'm able to obtain from the people I work with. It really felt like I shaped the school after 16 years into a really thriving school with many devoted educators and a lot of just a really good school. Building teacher leaders and having strong leadership teams, and just like I said, a lot of credibility.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's definitely a glass ceiling, and I think what I have found is that the higher up you go, the more male-oriented or male employees there are. Whereas in teaching, they're primarily female, right? At least at the elementary level. So, I would give somebody the advice to try to break through that kind of stigma that's in place.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In two different cases, in two different incidents, I was applying for higher level positions, and in both cases, younger men got the position. So, I would say that's definitely a challenge. It wasn't that long ago where even there were female principals.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think joy. You know, you have to sort of model kindness and happiness in order for others to lead others. I think perseverance I also would say, and I know the teachers would say this, that I also have very high expectations.
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