In her three years as an assistant principal at North Little Rock High School, one of the best things Angela Kindrex believes she implemented is the Renaissance Leadership Class, she said.
“I think that is the biggest thing I’m going to take away from my time here, is the Renaissance class and the programs that were put into place,” Kindrex said. “It is a huge school, so it is hard to do when you have that many students and staff.
“I am definitely proud of [the class] and hope they continue it.”
Basically, upperclassmen step up to be leaders and help with things around campus, such as giving tours to incoming students or helping with freshman orientation. Kindrex said the class covers anything that is needed to be a leader in the school and “bring up the culture in the school.”
She said that as the new principal at Bald Knob Middle School, she hopes to bring that same kind of leadership to her new school. She will officially start at Bald Knob on July 1. She replaces former middle school principal Justin Russell, who resigned.
“From what I can tell, Bald Knob has a warm and welcoming staff and community,” she said. “Everybody has been so friendly, and a lot of those things are already in place, but we can definitely expand on it.”
Tiffany Brown, a former assistant principal at NLR High School, has worked with Kindrex for the past three years. Brown said she is leaving for Texas this next school year.
“I think the class provided students with another positive outlet,” Brown said. “Not every kid is going to be a sports star or in the band, so this class provided another outlet for students to participate.
“And from what I saw, members of the class became really good friends with each other and got to know teachers better. It provided [the students] a way to get involved in the school and get to know the staff better.”
One of the biggest projects for the class was its annual fall festival for the 2,500 students. Brown said it was an incentive for the kids to work toward with good behavior and good grades. The festival, which started two years ago, is completely organized by the kids, including the games and the snacks.
“The Renaissance Leadership Team is a positive student-involvement group and was a project to get other students involved,” Brown said. “Angela is responsible for it. She researched it, and she organized it and got it going in our building.”
Kindrex is originally from Lubbock, Texas, but graduated from John Battle High School in Bristol, Virginia, in 1997. She said her dad was in the military, so her family moved around a lot. He moved to Arkansas after one of her best friends moved to the state.
She came for a visit, loved it and has been here ever since. She earned a bachelor’s degree in midlevel education from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 2009. She earned a master’s degree in special education in 2012 and a specialist degree in administration in 2017 — both from ASU as well. She taught English and special education at Beebe Junior High School while she was working on her degrees.
“I just love to learn,” Kindrex said. “It is something I am very passionate about. At first, I didn’t know what I wanted to do — I even considered earning a business degree — but I love to learn, and I wanted to share that passion with others.
“I just have a love for continuous learning, and I have always been good with kids, so it seemed natural to partner those up.”
Brown said Kindrex is “a go-getter who likes to research ways to improve academics and student involvement.” Brown said Kindrex was very good at piloting ideas to get kids involved in the classroom.
“She is very energetic and has great relationships with the kids,” Brown said. “Our offices were right next door to each other, and many students would drop by to see her and talk to her.
“She has great relationships with her students and is just a hard worker and a really awesome co-worker.”
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, part of Kindrex’s responsibilities included keeping in touch with students by calling, emailing or sending text messages to make sure they had access to everything they needed. She said it was important that the learning continued.
“Just by reaching out and connecting with families and asking parents to help out if they can encourages the student to work, and it definitely helped the productivity,” she said.
When Kindrex first started teaching, she taught an inclusion class with special-education students. She had originally planned to be a special-education director but eventually decided to move into an upper-level-administrator role because, she said, there is more involvement and the position is not as limited as a special-education director.
“I think after teaching the inclusion classes, the students who really struggled tugged at my heart the most,” Kindrex said. “To see the growth with those students, it gave them a sense of pride and made them feel like they could accomplish anything they put their minds to.”
Kindrex currently lives in Beebe, so when she heard of the opening at Bald Knob, she decided to apply for it.
“I have heard a lot of great things about the community and the school, and I just felt like it was a good opportunity,” she said.
Kindrex said she was introduced to the middle school staff recently through a Zoom meeting. She said that right now, her main goal is make sure that when the staff does return to the building, they are prepared both physically and emotionally, after being out for so long.
“I’m excited to work with the teachers and initiate some new programs and raise scores in the literacy program. Right now, hopefully, we will be able to meet face to face, depending on what guidelines are put into place,” Kindrex said.
“I think she will do great at Bald Knob,” Brown said. “One of her strengths is working with curriculum, and she thoroughly enjoys writing curriculum and helping teachers understand it — she will do awesome in that aspect.
“She is very good at building relationships with staff and students, and they are not afraid to ask her questions, or for advice or information. She is super organized, efficient and helpful. She is everybody’s go-to person.
“She will do well as the principal.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.