“I have known Katie Megrian since 2011 when she was my instructional leader and Founding Principal at Brooke Mattapan Charter School. Throughout the course of my first year working with Katie, I learned much about classroom culture and instruction. She taught me how to meet student needs through targeted individual and group instruction. She was instrumental in providing me with feedback to create a classroom culture that was positive and purposeful. I then had the privilege of being supported as a school leader by Katie and learned even more from her about how to give purposeful, specific feedback, have direct and open conversations with staff members and support teachers in creating strong classroom cultures. Instructionally, Katie helped to develop cohesive writing unit plans that provided much needed vertical alignment across our middle and elementary schools. In addition to her thoughtfully planned writing units, she was able to think through new ways to connect our Social Studies instruction with our ELA instruction, creating a more meaningful learning experience for our students. I highly recommend working with Katie to anyone who is a school administrator or in charge of academics at an instructional institution. I am where I am today in large part to her support and guidance.”

“I worked under Katie’s leadership for three years at Brooke High School where she served as both the executive principal and head of the History and Literature Departments. Katie’s poise, optimism, and overall commitment to the academic and personal well-being of our students made her an outstanding supervisor. Our regular observation debriefs were action-oriented, prompt, and always left me feeling empowered to try out our collaborative solutions. Her research-based and innovative feedback for the curriculum helped make challenging texts accessible for readers of all levels. Throughout her time at Brooke, she always provided positive feedback to students and encouraged students to give their best effort. Katie’s dedication to our school and students will be greatly missed by the teachers and students at Brooke. ”

“Katie Megrian is an exceptional school leader. She is passionately devoted to providing the highest quality education to her students and the highest quality professional development for her teachers. Katie Megrian was the founding principal and my direct supervisor while I taught fifth grade. Katie cared deeply about me not only as a teacher but as a person. She coached and developed teachers under her leadership and always did so with a growth mindset. She never ceased to believe that her students or teachers could achieve. As a founding principal, Katie created a school culture built around high achievement and feeling known. Katie provided leadership and support to her teachers in many ways. She frequently observed classes and debriefed the lessons with thoughtful feedback. She was proactive with both curriculum and culture by developing professional development that was targeted and constantly modified based on teacher feedback. Katie carefully analyzed data with her teachers and ensured that teachers left a meeting with a clear actionable plan. Most importantly, Katie’s door was literally and figuratively always open. Katie leads by living and breathing her vision. Her students and teachers feel known by her and she does so by being a consistent and constant presence in classrooms. Katie’s leadership still guides my decisions as an educator and her impact continues to be seen in the teachers she developed as is seen with the strongest of leaders. ”

“Working closely with Katie over the past 11 years has really helped me to develop as a classroom teacher as well as a principal. Having Katie as my instructional coach really helped set the tone of what great leadership should look like. I always received very specific feedback on content that helped me to better understand my students as learners, especially in the foundational years of their educational careers. Through frequency observations and actionable feedback, I was able to look at the work that my students were producing and identify their mastery levels as well as their misconceptions. This knowledge helped me to meet my kids where they were and customize my instruction. Katie has used her K-12 experience to continue to coach other principals on how to support teachers in breaking down and understand standards to create, deliver, and modify the curriculum to help student access content without lowering expectations. I was especially grateful for her support when she took on the curriculum development role for reading and writing. In just a short time, with her guidance, I was able to help second graders go from writing simple sentences to developing an argument piece that included a thesis, framing, evidence from a text and an analysis. It was particularly helpful when Katie ran norming meetings where my team looked at sample work and normed how to grade each piece. I left every meeting with concrete teaching points to help improve my students’ work. As a principal, I continue to run meetings and support teachers the way I was supported by Katie when she was my instructional leader.”

“I have worked with Katie for the past 14 years in many different capacities. In our collaborative relationship as teachers, Katie helped me develop my ability to thoughtfully analyze data in order to better meet my students’ needs and to create and execute curriculum that is rigorous and puts the thinking on kids. I am continuously impressed by Katie’s desire to improve her own craft through outside research. Her ELA content knowledge is extensive and so applicable to all grade-levels. I had the privilege of moving into a leadership position at the same time that Katie did at one of our other campuses. For the past 9 years, Katie has helped me to balance the never ending list of priorities that school leaders face. Through our conversations and joint observations, I have learned so much about how to develop staff members through concrete and actionable feedback. I can say wholeheartedly that Katie has contributed immensely to my development as a teacher and leader! ”

“Katie was my direct manager for four years and has continued to be a mentor of mine for many years since. During her time supervising me as a classroom teacher, Katie was instrumental in my growth as an educator. She has the remarkable skill of being able to distill feedback to one or two clear, concise points that are actionable and helpful; I credit her with helping me greatly improve my classroom management, organization, student engagement, and instructional rigor. Katie also has a deep understanding of how kids learn to read and write, and was constantly helping me and my fellow teachers improve our ELA curriculum and instruction. She taught me that, just like the writing process itself, there is always more we can do to strengthen our reading and writing curriculum; she embodies the growth mindset, and constantly draws from research, observations, videos, and books to further develop her understanding of highly effective ELA instruction. Lastly, one notable trait of Katie’s that sets her apart as a colleague is her incredibly high emotional intelligence. She is one of the most thoughtful, kind, and supportive people I have known, and she is able to manage even the most challenging situations with care and grace. This is what makes her an exceptional leader; she cares deeply about the people she works with, their development, and their well-being. Katie’s content knowledge and leadership skills are unparalleled and make her an asset to any organization that is lucky enough to work with her.”

“I have had the great pleasure of working with Katie Megrian for almost eight years at Brooke Charter Schools (2012-2020). During that time, Katie has provided valuable leadership and support that has had a great impact on my development as an educator. While principal of Brooke Mattapan, Katie’s professional development sessions and direct feedback significantly strengthened my classroom management skills, my ability to plan and execute lesson plans effectively, and my communication with families. Over my years of knowing her, Katie has consistently been an incredibly thoughtful, composed, supportive, knowledgeable, reflective, and warm leader. Every bit of feedback and wisdom that I have received from her over the years has made me a more confident and prepared educator, both when working with students and adults. I am so grateful to have benefited from her extensive experience working with students K-12 and her deep ELA content knowledge, and I know that I would not be the educator I am today without her leadership. ”

“When I think of a great leader, I think of Katie Megrian. One of the most valued attributes that Katie possesses is her honesty. I know that when I ask Katie for feedback, she is going to tell me the truth, and that whatever she tells me will come with a suggestion or an idea. She always focuses on teacher ownership, but also is able to impart the feedback in such a way that you know she also remembers what it was like to be in the classroom, the difficulties that entails, and makes sure that she acknowledges the hard work you are doing. Katie also took on a huge task at Brooke of overhauling our entire K-8 writing curriculum. She completely changed the way we taught writing, and was able to deliver, teach us, and edit all of the lessons for the entire school, while getting feedback from multiple campuses. Katie helped us move into more student based work, where the student work was the model, and continues to adapt that curriculum to suit our individual classes. Finally, Katie pays close attention to the details within our lessons, and always gives thoughtful feedback on lessons. She has an ability to step back, think holistically about a lesson, and then also think about its practical application in the classroom, which is critical in a supervisor or coach. She is an absolute asset to any school lucky enough to have her, and I will always be grateful to have worked for her!”

“Katie Megrian was my principal two and a half years and served as my direct supervisor for one year. In that time she helped me to be a stronger teacher, leader and overall educator. She was able to balance giving critical feedback while always making me feel valued and respected. She pushed me to grow in my teacher practices and encouraged me to use the skills I cultivated to consider leadership opportunities. Without her I would never have become department chair and think more widely about vertical alignment across the math team.
Katie inspires others to hold themselves to high standards because she leads by example always striving for excellence. She has the rare ability to make everyone feel heard while making difficult decisions. Katie works diligently to instill grit, character, and respect within her students and the teachers she works with. While she takes her job personally (as any educator should), she teaches and leads adults with a great level of empathy. She listens to learn, and seeks to understand. Her empathy, however, does not allow any students or colleagues to create any excuses for poor work ethic or behavior. My biggest challenge as a teacher and leader has been finding the right blend of empathy and strictness. In this category especially, Katie has served as a mentor to me. Her success in this area stems from the strong relationships she has built with all students and colleagues.
Unfortunately, too often in education, decisions are not made for the best of the student. This happens for a variety of reasons; reform policies are made for political edge, egos come into play, and many people focus too much on getting credit. Katie is not one of these people. Every action and ounce of energy she displays is because of one reason: she wants what is best for her students and her school. I know she will continue this into any project she undertakes, making whatever community she is apart of lucky to have her.”

“Over my eight years at Brooke, I have had the pleasure of working with Katie Megrian in several different capacities. In each of her roles, Katie established a strong vision that was grounded in student achievement, worked tirelessly towards achieving that vision, and inspired those around her to do the same. As my principal, Katie created a school culture that prioritized great teaching as the key lever for student growth and achievement. Through her professional development sessions and classroom observations, she taught me how to develop genuine buy-in from my students and how to individualize my instruction to meet all of my learners’ needs. When I moved into a role as an assistant principal, I had the honor of working alongside Katie and other principals at the network level. In that role, Katie taught me how to develop other teachers, modeling ways that I could target feedback and professional development sessions in order to meet the needs of teachers with a wide range of experience. Once Katie moved into a network position to develop our ELA curriculum and Social Studies curriculum, I was able to learn even more from her about curriculum development. Her thorough research about ELA and Social Studies pedagogy has had a lasting impact on our curriculum and on student growth. Katie’s depth and breadth of experience in K-12 education and her commitment to student growth and achievement make her an incredible asset to any district or network.”

“I have valued Katie as a curriculum leader since I first worked with her four years ago. Her insights on ELA and Social Studies curricula and her compelling models for how to successfully teach and plan ELA instruction in an accessible manner for all students inspire deep admiration. Katie is very passionate about content and I have enjoyed discussing and planning rigorous instruction with her over the past few years. She presents her thoughts and ideas in a clear, methodical way so that others can easily understand her, even when she is tasked with conveying the most challenging ideas. I particularly valued my time spent with her discussing how to effectively teach writing, grade students’ work, and give students feedback that would help them grow over time. I became a better writing instructor because of the time I spent with Katie. Today, in my capacity as an instructional lead, I still lean heavily on the experiences I had during my one-on-one meetings with her. Even as a relatively new member of our school’s network, I am well aware of the legacy she has left behind. Across our network of schools, teachers and instruction leaders continue to use her rubrics, lesson plans, teaching videos and related resources to enhance their own day-to-day instruction. ”

“Katie Megrian has been integral to my development as an educator inside the classroom as well as my transition into school leadership. I first worked with Katie during new teacher orientation at Brooke Charter Schools while she was spearheading the redesign of Brooke’s K-8 English curriculum. Despite her position as a network leader, Katie was a positive and welcoming presence who allowed me to unpack the demands of working at a high performing charter school in a way that felt urgent, yet attainable. Following the orientation, Katie’s mentorship of me continued throughout my time at Brooke and expanded well beyond the development of my professional teaching practice.
During my time at Brooke, our paths would cross multiple times as we worked together in the founding of Brooke High School and later, when she became principal of the high school itself. In her role as principal, Katie maintained her incredible ability to connect with staff members while also pushing us to deliver the best educational experience for our students every day. Katie was a hands-on leader who worked tirelessly to ensure our curriculum, school culture, and professional development was mission-aligned and informed by all school stakeholders. Personally, Katie took the time to know my professional goals and specifically, my aspirations to be a school leader, and worked to carve out opportunities that would help me achieve these goals. Katie gave me a role as a mentor teacher within Brooke’s associate teacher program and pushed me to take a leadership role during our humanities department meetings. These experiences, coupled with the unwavering guidance I received from Katie as I developed my own ability to lead, have proven immensely valuable in my current work as a school leader. I know that my experience working with Katie is not unique. Anyone who has worked with, or for Katie Megrian would echo my sentiments that she is a leader who, through leading by doing and leveraging her ability to develop strong, trusting relationships, gets the most out of everyone she works with. Now in a leadership role, I try to emulate much of what I’ve learned from her during our time working together. Katie Megrian would be a high-impact member of any organization, school, or team looking for an inspirational, results-driven leader, whose amazing student and school outcomes speaks for itself.”

“My working relationship with Katie has spanned multiple contexts since 2008. She was my colleague when we both taught at Brooke Roslindale, my manager when she was the founding principal at Brooke Mattapan, and she continues to be a mentor and a sounding board for me in my role as the Director of Academics at Springfield Prep Charter School. At every stage of our relationship, I have benefited from Katie’s sound judgment and thoughtful analysis. Whether it’s troubleshooting action steps in a data meeting, sorting out how to resolve a thorny team dynamic, or determining how best to revamp an aspect of the curriculum, Katie has great ideas that are grounded in experience and a deep-seated belief that kids are capable of much more than we often give them credit for. I frequently reflect on and apply advice Katie has given me over the years and when I find myself at a crossroads, I often ask myself what Katie would do. And then I call her and find out. ”

“Katie is a gift to public education. I have worked with Katie for more than 13 years and have had the pleasure of seeing how she supports students, teachers, staff and school communities. Katie has high expectations for ALL students and understands some students have complex learning needs. She works with teams to develop plans to support students that may need more support and different approaches to help them succeed. Under her leadership as a principal, cohorts of students with disabilities made more growth than any other sub-group in the state of Massachusetts. Her experience as a phenomenal teacher and principal, as well as her experience working with students in grades K-12, brings communities of learners and educators forward. ”

“Katie Megrian was the first instructional coach I ever had and her impact on my career was pivotal. Through frequent classroom observations, high impact feedback, and contextualized professional development sessions, Katie supported me to strengthen my classroom practice and deepen my content knowledge. Her coaching style combines respect, honesty, and knowledgeable support. In the years I worked at Brooke Charter School, Mattapan, Katie presented a strong model of instructional leadership that continues to serve as a reference point for my own practice today as an instructional coach and leader. In addition, Katie’s curriculum designing skills stand out as exceptional. She is able to translate extremely high expectations for student achievement into bite-sized curriculum components that build upon each other and include the necessary scaffolding to meet diverse student needs. I strongly and unreservedly recommend Katie as an instructional and leadership coach, and as a consultant for student-centered curriculum development.”

“Katie is an exceptional education leader with a track record of helping her schools and students to achieve extraordinary success. She has been a trusted advisor to me throughout the founding stages of our school, and continues to be a go-to resource for me when I’m working through a school leadership challenge. What is so unique about Katie’s experience is that it spans all grade levels (she has been a Principal of all grades, K-12) and that in all of these grade levels, she has led her schools to achieve stellar results. She’s as comfortable advising on instruction (curriculum standards, data-driven instruction, and professional development) as she is about leadership and management (managing for performance and building strong team cultures). Katie is pragmatic and results driven and has helped me to focus on what matters for my team and our students. We are much stronger for it.
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