“Kat's genuine belief in teachers and students is palpable. She cares immensely about addressing the needs of those she works with, which is evident in her conversations with staff, students and families. In her seat as Interim School Leader, Kat lead from her heart and put relationships before anything else. She sought out the guidance and perspectives of others, specifically when making difficult decisions during reopening in Hybrid. As her direct report, I discovered a confidence in my own decision making because I had such a strong model to work from.”

“Kat is the type of coach and manager who held me to high standards and made me feel supported. Kat comes from a strengths based approach where she utilizes what you're already good at in order to help you develop in your areas of growth. Kat is the type of leader who sees staff as people first and would regularly check in about ways to make sure you are taking care of yourself and loved ones. Kat made me a better teacher and staff member by constantly reminding me the value I brought to my team, students and school. Her commitment and passion to antiracism education pushed me to think about how I could implement those big ideas more critically in my own practice.”

“Katherine is an exceptional leader through her compassion, drive, empathy, and love for teaching/mentoring. Katherine has the exceptional ability to culturally respond to different walks of life in and out of the school setting. I had the privilege of having Katherine as my manager during the 21-22 school year. Katherine was very hands on with the counseling team. Her eagerness and willingness to learn what social-emotional learning looked like in the classroom and how it can be implemented at a micro and macro level was astonishing. Katherine's open mindedness creates a special and inclusive environment for everyone around her.”

“Mrs. Kim is a very passionate leader who understands the needs of each individual and provides personalized support and guidance so each can achieve their own goals. I’ve got the pleasure to know her both as an Educator and School Leader,I witnessing her caring and commitment which makes her an invaluable example of character to everyone who comes in contact with her.”

“Kat knows what it takes to lead a diverse team of educators; she has led and supported both general education teachers and special education teachers in developing learning environments where our students feel safe, physically and emotionally, to learn and be themselves. Kat understands that a child cannot learn unless their basic needs have been met, and does not hesitate to collaborate with the teacher, reach out to family, communicate with special education, set up action plans, and have check-ins with the students and more to meet the needs of our "heart" students and to make them (as well as their family) feel that they feel seen and supported. It is without hesitancy that Kat is "all in" for her teachers and her students.”

“Kat has been the coach that has helped me not only feel confident about my strengths but validating my feelings when I was feeling most insecure, anxious, or worried. Kat you are the kind of coach I want to be for others.”

“Kat Kim is an exceptional leader, mentor, coach, and human. While I have not received direct coaching from her, she has had the greatest influence on me during my first year at KIA of anyone on the leadership team. From our first phone call last summer before meeting face to face, she made me feel welcome, appreciated, and valued. It is because of how comfortable I feel with her that I have been able to show my truest self throughout my time at KIA. Kat indirectly holds those around her to a high standard simply by showing up as her best self for everyone else, shining her light and lighting up those around her just by BEING. She motivates others to push, grow, and shine even through difficult days. She reopened KIA during the pandemic, an extremely difficult and consuming task, and was still able to continue to check on those around her. I believe that KIA's collective mental health is so strong because of her influence. Kat ensures that all identities, students and staff, are supported and valued through equitable work and content. She has been an incredible and invaluable influence on this community.”

Kat has had a profound impact on me as an educator. She was my manager my first year at KIPP Iluminar. Kat did all she could to help me feel successful as a first year teacher by creating a plan for me to eventually lead my own classrooms. This meant the world to me because when I didn't believe in myself, she did. The development goals we would set together were bite sized. I always left my weekly one on one meeting with her knowing exactly how to leverage my strengths to develop my areas of need. Even when she had a crucial conversation with me regarding deadlines, she saw me as a person first and always helped me come up with solutions. I knew I didn't have to go through any difficult moments alone. Even with everything on her plate, like transitioning to the Dean role, she took the time to get to know me as a person and affirmed my identity as a Queer person. This is the type of manager I wish all first year teachers could have. With her guidance I was offered the position of Lead Teacher at the end of my first year teaching and I am now one of the top performing teachers at Iluminar.

Kat forever changed our school culture at Iluminar. We are now a school striving to become anti-racist. Thanks to Professional Developments planned.led by Kat our school has become a better place for students, families, and teachers. Kat helped close the gap in communication between admin/teachers, families/teachers, and students/teachers. Our school will continue to thrive because of how strong of an authentic leader Kat was as Assistant Principal.

“Kat is one of the hardest working and most professional people I have had the pleasure to work with and work for. As a teacher starting off in KIPP, it was very easy to feel overwhelmed. Kat was not only a teacher who lead by example but was also always there to answer questions. As an interim school leader she put people first. During a time of reopening schools, she made sure each and every person at our school felt seen and heard. One of the things I appreciated about Kat's leadership was when you would come to her with a problem she would actively listen and then help you find solutions. She would not solve your problem for you, but rather ask probing questions and give you the autonomy to solve it on your own.”

“Kat has been nothing short of an exceptional leader and coach. Her strengths are in building relationships and leveraging those relationships to inspire the best out of her team and drive results. When Kat acted as my manager, I always felt supported and inspired to do my best. Her coaching was impactful because she gave clear feedback and next steps that would elevate my practice. She was consistent in offering me support and holding me accountable for meeting my goals and her leadership provided me the motivation to persevere. Her expertise, people-centric nature, and dedication to empowering students through education make her an outstanding leader.”

“As a former trainee of Mrs. Kim, I can sincerely say she is "hands down" a queen! Not only did she get to know me as a person, but her in-depth knowledge of content and student engagement have helped me be a stronger educator. Mrs. Kim always had innovative ideas and always jumped in to help model or coach any areas where I felt lacking. As a school leader she pushed us to address biases and ideals that may contribute to suppressive thinking and practices. She helped me look inward and realize that I too needed to expand and evolve as anti-racist educator and guided me in discovering new practices to best support or growing community. Overall, Mrs. Kim has been an amazing leader, coach and side kick.”

“Kat has all the qualities that every leader should have: hardworking, passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated. I've had the opportunity to have known Kat as a teacher, manager, and assistant leader. In all of those roles, she has helped me grow as a teacher and leader by providing positive feedback, highlighting areas of strengths and growth, and always encouraging and believing in me. She is never afraid to lead by example and knows how to encourage and build up people by making sure to see them as people first. Her ability to make strong connections with those that she works with has allowed teachers to grow without fear of failing.”

“Kat is such a joy to work with! She demonstrates empathy, high levels of self-awareness, critical thinking, problem solving skills, organizational skills and drive. As a leader she is warm, understanding, approachable and detailed oriented which is helpful in building trust and relationships with those she works with. Her ability to be genuine, caring and self-aware makes it easy for her to build relationships with students, families, and other staff members. In my experience with her, I have felt valued, respected, encouraged and inspired when sharing ideas and working towards projects.”

“Kat leads by example an inspiration. She builds trusting and deeply respectful relationships, which allow for genuine communication and growth. Working with her as my manager and school leader, I felt challenged to keep developing my own practice but also supported in how best to do so every step of the way.

Kat demonstrates her determination to provide an equitable learning environment for all students by setting high expectations for the educators she leads and then differentiating her coaching so that each teacher can meet those expectations. During her time as our school leader, Kat also transformed our adult culture into a more equitable space for teachers and other school staff. She is an incredibly dedicated educator whose leadership is always rooted in authenticity and purpose.”