Kate Cerve McDowell

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT KATE CERVE MCDOWELL

Kate McDowell is an educator at KC International Charter School in Kansas City. She serves as an instructional coach, working primarily with kindergarten, first, and second grade classrooms, as well as those that serve newcomers to the U.S. She began teaching in 2011, when she joined Teach For America as a corps member in Kansas City. Kate grew up in Joliet, IL, and began a career in journalism before becoming a teacher. After graduating from the University of Missouri with a journalism degree in 2008, she worked for three years as a reporter covering education issues and policy at two local newspapers in South Carolina. That experience sparked a passion for education, particularly as it relates to achieving educational equity for all students, regardless of racial or economic backgrounds. Kate has earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri St. Louis, as well as an additional certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Her responsibilities in her current role include providing instruction to English Language Learners, coaching teachers one-on-one to improve their practice and providing professional development trainings to her school staff. She’s also a member of her school’s Leadership Team and coaches a Girls on the Run team, which she co-founded at her school last fall. In 2015, she became a Fund for Teachers Fellow and received a grant to travel to Mexico to improve her understanding of Spanish language and Latino culture to better serve her students and their families. In 2016, she was named a Regional Teacher of the Year for the Kansas City area.