By Lizzie Walje | [email protected]

This upcoming fall, Kody Colvin, a former Salt Lake City School District educator and assistant principal, will become Hawthorne Elementary School’s new principal. On June 22, the district’s official Facebook page announced Colvin’s appointment. The announcement was met with an outpouring of accolades and congratulations, wishing Colvin well and speaking to his admirable character.

Colvin has always worked at the elementary level. His first-ever position was as a third-grade teacher at Beckman Elementary. Since then, he’s taught first and third grade at a few other institutions, although he’s worked with elementary students of all ages due to his work as an instructional coach alongside other teachers. Colvin is drawn to elementary students, due to the pivotal nature of early development. 

“I really enjoy working with elementary school students” Colvin said. “[At that age] students are becoming fluent readers and can engage in conversations about text. They are starting to develop deeper math skills.”

In the beginning of his career, Colvin had no desire to work at the administrative level. He further explained that many teachers feel the same, acknowledging the importance of having dedicated educators in the classroom. “I always knew I wanted to advance in my career, but I was unsure about what that journey would be. After learning the important role a school principal can play in students education, I became curious.”

It wasn’t until he received an opportunity to work as assistant principal at Escalante Elementary School, that he tried his hand at an administrative position. It was there that Colvin fine-tuned his skills as a leader. Colvin believes his greatest strength lies in his ability to champion diversity and foster an environment that allows all students to feel seen, validated and heard. He plans to bring this mentality to his inaugural year at Hawthorne.

Colvin was drawn to Hawthorne for a few key reasons. As a resident of the Liberty Wells neighborhood, Colvin has a direct vested interest in the community. Moreover, he respects that Hawthorne houses multiple important programs under one roof including The Extended Learning Program (ELP) and the Neighborhood and Curriculum Assessment (C&A). He looks forward to maintaining the excellent work Hawthorne already provides students, while focusing on getting to intimately know the educators, staff, students and families of the institution. 

Overall, Colvin wants to create a space that focuses on building strong relationships amongst educators, staff, families, and students. He believes that cultivating authentic relationships with the school’s stakeholders will, in turn, create a space that students love to be in. 

“I believe that school leaders who honor the important work of equity, diversity, and inclusion create schools that center all students’ identities and create a learning space that allows all students to be seen, feel validated, and thrive as scholars,” Colvin said.