Pam Kingery, Founding Executive Director of Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo
At Ask Me About My 12,000 Kids, we’ve been reflecting on Executive Director of Communities In Schools Pam Kingery’s posts she’s written over the years. While Pam will be leaving her post at the end of June, her words and actions will reside on in this blog, in our hearts, and continue to shape the lives of our 12,000+ kids.
Speaking of laying the groundwork for the future, Pam wrote about breaking ground for the new home for Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, The Kalamazoo Promise, Southwest Michigan First, and Warner Norcross and Judd, LLP, in her October 2018 post entitled “Breaking Ground on Future Home.”
Pam in purple dress and white construction hat at the August 2018 groundbreaking ceremony.
In “Checking In For Children at the Checkout Lane at Meijer” Pam described a moment where the generous, caring nature of this community percolates through an ordinary, everyday activity.
Pam has encouraged us to share with others the stories that shape our lives. In “What is Your Story?” Pam shared her own story and told us how her mother, despite having dropped out of high school, instilled in Pam a love for education. Have you shared your story with anyone lately?
If you’ve had the opportunity to converse with Pam and/or follow this blog, you also know that Pam is passionate about attendance. The reasons a student may be chronically tardy or absent are as diverse as students themselves. Over the years, Pam has encouraged us to see attendance as a community issue. When it comes to school attendance, “Every Minute Counts.”
Pam in 2017 (on far right), holding one of 500 alarm clocks donated by Fifth Third Bank to support students’ school attendance. She’s pictured with (left) Sara Williams, Retail Regional Manager, Fifth Third Bank and (middle) Ron Foor, Community President for Fifth Third Bank.
Regular reader of Ask Me About My 12,000 Kids know that we’ve popped “Pop Quizzes” on hundreds of our CIS friends over the years. When Pam announced she was retiring from CIS, we finally got a chance to sit down with her. You can read her interview here.
Come July 1, Pam will no longer be soaring around CIS in her executive director cape. But she will continue to fly around our community with her superpowers—of kindness, compassion, assessment, and more—continuing to do good and amazing things for this community.
