In this episode of “The Charter School Connection” Shawn speaks with Dr. Kristina Kyles-Smith, CEO at Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School (LMCJ) in Baltimore, MD. Shawn and Dr. Kyles-Smth have gotten to know each other over the last few years over many networking calls. This time Shawn gets to dive a little deeper into Dr. Kyles-Smith’s history and what makes LMCJ so unique.

Dr. Kyles-Smith never dreamt of being a teacher as a child but still has become a lifelong educator. She has done so many things in the education field in Boston and Maryland. Check out the episode to see all the incredible things she has done.

LMCJ opened in 2015 and Dr. Kyles-Smith has been CEO there for the last 3 years. LMCJ is an all girls 5th - 8th grade middle school in Baltimore. It is the only public school in the United States that was founded/incubated/funded by a private school. Their forever home location is full of history, and they use this to their advantage. Community, connection and purpose are key to the success of LMCJ. To be a successful leader, you need to be knowledgeable and be able to unblock anything that could be hindering the learning for the students.

The biggest challenge that LMCJ has faced was a decline in enrollment post covid. They have dove head first into fixing this issue. A school can only be successful if the classroom works. Knowing and understanding your model is key. Fall into your mission not out of it. If you lose track of the mission/model of the school, talk to students and families to find your way home.

There is a lot of valuable information in this episode so we hope you enjoy!


Time Stamps:

1:35 Background on Dr. Kyles-Smith

4:20 How did your experience help you and the history of LMCJ?

10:30 Challenges and how did you overcome them?

18:48 How have you built your school model?

25:10 Final Thought

Show Notes:

Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School https://lilliemay.org/

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