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Meet the new ULS Director, Kevin R. George
KEVIN R. GEORGE NAMED ULS DIRECTOR
Kevin George has been named Director of the LSU Laboratory School. George began his service in May as only the 13th head of the school, now in its 106th year.
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“I am so pleased to welcome Kevin George as the new Director of LSU Laboratory School,” said LSU College of Human Sciences & Education Dean Roland Mitchell, PhD. “He now joins a short list of exceptional leaders in this school’s history. The depth and breadth of his leadership experience will undoubtedly serve the ULS community well. I look forward to a continuation of and growth in the tradition of excellence for which U-High is known as we begin this new chapter at the dawn of the school’s second century.”
George has more than 21 years of experience in education, including Chief Executive Officer of New Beginnings Charter Management Organization, Superintendent of St. John the Baptist Public School System, Supervisor of Secondary Curriculum for Lafourche Parish and Deputy Network Leader with the Louisiana Department of Education, principal, assistant principal and teacher. He most recently served as the Chief School Accountability Officer for New Orleans Public Schools.
While serving in these positions, George also held appointments to several statewide committees, including the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Superintendents’ Advisory Council and the Louisiana Department of Education’s Commission on Assessment and Review and Use in Public Schools (Chair), Advisory Council of Student Behavior and Discipline and the Alternative Education Study Group. He was nationally recognized as the 2016 Save the Music Foundation Superintendent of the Year. Awarded to only one superintendent or school CEO each year, the honor recognizes outstanding commitment to music education in his or her school district.
After completion of a fellowship with the Southern Education Foundation’s Racial Equity Leadership Network, George has presented at national conferences on topics such as equitable outcomes for all students and building systems to support teaching and learning.
On a full football scholarship, George attended Nicholls State University where he earned two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree and was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi honor society. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Executive Leadership from the University of Holy Cross in New Orleans.
George and his wife, Schwanda, have been married for 23 years and have three children – a son, Jalon, who is a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force, a daughter, Taylor, who is a graduate student at LSU and Kassidy, who is a rising junior in high school.
Originally from Crowley, LA, George graduated from Notre Dame High School. “I have a lot of pride in my hometown because it helped shape who I am today,” he said. And growing up in the Rice Capital of the World, it is no surprise that one of George’s personal claims to fame is “making the best red beans and rice on this side of the equator.”
He counts his parents - Roger and Diane Johnson - as having the greatest influence on his life. “They instilled in me a drive that continues today. No matter the activity, they expected excellence from my siblings and me. Whether I was Farmer McGregor in a 3rd grade play or an officer in our church youth group, they demanded excellence,” said George, adding, “They also firmly believed in the power of education and its ability to change the trajectory of a person’s life.”
The result: George and both of his siblings are now all educators. “All of us have earned master’s degrees in education and two of us are pursuing Doctoral degrees,” he said. “
I am so proud and excited to begin this journey,” said George. “The ULS Community can expect in me an individual who believes in the collective. Together, we can do anything. I look forward to galvanizing our Cub Family to make our school even more outstanding than it is today. I look forward to working tirelessly with our stakeholders to ensure ULS is always at its best.”
