Click Here To Listen Nashville Business 100 Leading African Americans Dr Kevin D Armstrong
Dr. Kevin Armstrong, a Nashville native, was educated in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System graduating from John Overton High School in 1990. Armstrong, the son of a retired educator, has been immersed in teaching and learning his entire life. It was second nature for him to continue the legacy of becoming an educator.
He has served as Executive Principal at DuPont Hadley Middle School in the MNPS for the past seven years after spending ten years as a classroom teacher and six years as an assistant principal. His dedicated and data-driven approach to closing the achievement gap has resulted in a 7.7 percent increase in math proficiency since 2012, and the school has seen an increase of 40 percent in the number of minority students enrolled in High School credit courses offered at the middle school. These impressive achievements made the school the recipient of an award for achieving the largest ethnic group performance gap closure for the 2014-15 school year. To improve writing scores, Armstrong worked with his Leadership Team to create a writing across curriculum program, integrating writing development into each subject area.
This program has already seen students improving at least one point on a four-point rubric. Armstrong was instrumental in implementing the One Cart, One Class pilot program, obtaining a laptop cart for each core curriculum classroom and ensuring that all students can develop the technological skills they need to succeed.
In 2017 alone, he received three prestigious accolades. He was selected as the National Distinguished Principal for the state of Tennessee by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. He was also selected as the 2017 MNPS Middle School Principal of the Year. Finally, he received the Educator of the Year award by the Alpha Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc.
Always dedicated to professional development for himself and his staff, Armstrong is currently beginning his second stint in the prestigious Governor’s Academy for School Leadership, where he collaborates with the top principals in the state of Tennessee, mentors several assistant principals in his school district, and participates in development programs designed to increase school leadership capacity. His school created the DHMP Youth Court, the first middle school youth court in the state of Tennessee. Also, DuPont Hadley was chosen as the AVID Regional Showcase School for the Spring of 2018.
Dr. Armstrong holds a B.S. from Middle Tennessee State University (Elementary Education), as well as a M.Ed. (Educational Leadership) and Ed. D. (Leadership and Professional Practice) degree from Trevecca Nazarene University.
Personally, Armstrong and his wife La Kiesha are the proud parents of two conscientious daughters: Sydney and Kennedy. He and his family attend Lake Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, where he serves as a deacon.
