NDMU PhD Student Selected as Maryland’s Assistant Principal of the Year

By: Erik Pedersen, Senior Communications Manager

BALTIMORE – A Notre Dame of Maryland University PhD student was recently named Assistant Principal of the Year by the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP).

Kimberly Culbertson D’22, who is completing her doctorate in Instructional Leadership for Changing Populations, was recognized for her excellence as an assistant principal at Towson High School in Baltimore County. She has worked as a teacher and administrator for Baltimore County Public Schools since 2006.

“In receiving this award, I was overcome with feelings of gratitude and pride to be able to represent the hard-working students, staff, and community members of Towson High School, Baltimore County Public Schools, and the state of Maryland,” Culbertson said. “I am extremely humbled by this honor, especially knowing the dedication, passion, and innovation that my fellow colleagues employ each day in their own work.”

Culbertson becomes the second NDMU School of Education student in as many years to be honored by the MASSP. Deana Giannelli M’05 was chosen as the organization’s Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year in 2021 for her efforts at Perry Hall Middle School in Baltimore County.

As an assistant principal at Towson HS, Culbertson is responsible for providing general support to both students and teachers on a daily basis. She also serves as the school’s master scheduler, transportation coordinator, and attendance committee coordinator, and she directly supervises the Science, Social Studies, and School Counseling departments.

Culbertson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Salisbury University and a master’s in chemical and life sciences from the University of Maryland, was inspired to continue her education at NDMU by a family member who had his own opportunities taken away.

“My continuous desire to learn has always been driven by the fact that my grandfather’s education was abruptly halted by the German occupation of the Netherlands, my family’s home country, during World War II,” Culbertson said. “As a small tribute to my grandfather who could never again access the education he dreamed of and desired, I committed myself to taking full advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow, and never taking my education for granted.”

As she completes her PhD in instructional leadership this year, Culbertson’s time at Notre Dame has already enhanced her ability to inspire change at the administrative level and put her students in a greater position to succeed.

“The PhD program has equipped me to be a dynamic and transformational instructional leader,” she said. “Through my coursework and research, I have been able to critically examine the public education system in the US and explore pedagogical and structural ways to disrupt the persistent inequities and injustices that marginalize groups of students. This has allowed me to develop and deploy innovative solutions to problems of practice, thus improving attendance rates, performance outcomes, and ultimately, access and opportunity for the students that I serve.”
 

Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.