The Briarcliff Community Alliance would like to welcome Kate Place, the new principal at Briarcliff Elementary, to the community. Kate was born and raised in Clarksdale, Mo, but has roots in the Briarcliff area. Her grandparents moved here in 1957 and both her dad and aunt went to Briarcliff Elementary.
“All my life I grew up visiting my grandparents so I know the area pretty well,” says Kate. “When I was student teaching in the North Kansas City School District, I actually lived here with my grandparents, and the community became my second home. I absolutely love it!”
Kate and her husband have been married for seven years and have two kids: Ben,3; and Claire,1. When she isn’t working, she loves spending time with her kids, taking weekend walks and running in marathons.
Kate graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a degree in Elementary Education. During teaching, she acquired her Masters in Administration. Before coming to Briarcliff, she taught at Chapel Hill for six years and was the assistant principal for a year. She was also the assistant principal at Northview Elementary for four years. Besides her personal connection to the school, she describes how coming to Briarcliff is a perfect fit.
“The instructional and leadership style is very similar to Northview,” says Kate. “The demographics are also similar and the students and their families come from different backgrounds. I also love that the school is surrounded by a strong community.”
One of her goals as principal is to raise the bar for the schools in the North Kansas City School District.
“If we can make one school better, it will make the whole district better,” says Kate. “One of the ways is to meet the technology needs so students are always actively engaged in learning. We have to think about the big picture so our kids and the community will benefit.”
The goals of the district are to increase student achievement and graduation rates. These goals are impacted at the elementary level. Kate’s goal is to support the efforts of the district by addressing the students’ needs. The key needs of students are remediation, enrichment and core principles. She explains that all kids are different so the needs are individualized to each student.
“When it comes to teaching, we have to think about differentiation,” says Kate. “Every student has a different way of learning, so are we going to bother teaching kids the same way?”
Briarcliff utilizes Bear Time which is an intervention system that helps strengthen enrichment. Students need enrichment and this is the school’s way of supporting that. Kate also visits each classroom to discuss three other important values: safety, respect and learning.
“I tell the kids these are our top priorities at school,” says Kate. “The community cares a lot about Briarcliff and I want to pass along those same values to the kids.”
One of her favorite parts about her job is getting to know the children on an individual basis and developing a good relationship with them.
“The best part of an elementary school is that I get six years with these kids,” says Kate. “Even though it’s hard to give them up at the end of the year, I love to watch them grow up and go on to do great things.”
She is also excited to work with faculty and staff and has already seen great things from them in just a short amount of time.
“Everyone here is excellent,” says Kate. “We have a great balance between experience and new, innovative staff working with the kids. We recently received our MAP results and the teachers were very interested in how the students did, so they know what areas need to be improved. They truly care about the students.”
The care for the school and the students extends into the area through the residents and the efforts of Briarcliff Community Alliance.
“The school really is the center of the community,” says Kate. “Staff, students and families come back all the time to catch up and see the kids. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by people who care about the students.”
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