Industry News

Education Thought Leaders Tom Hierck, Kent Peterson, Ken James Join Kickboard Advisory Board

• By Sri Ravipati
• 03/17/17

Kickboard, an education technology company known for its flagship school culture system, has formed an advisory board. The three inaugural members, Tom Hierck, Kent Peterson and Ken James, will work under the direction of Kickboard Founder and Chief Product Officer Jennifer Medbery to help guide research efforts as the company develops a total climate and culture solution for K–12.  

Here’s a quick rundown of each new board member:

• Tom Hierck: A longtime public school educator turned presenter, staff developer and author of several books, including “Seven Keys to a Positive Learning Environment in Your Classroom”;
• Ken James: A lifelong educator and education administrator, a former Arkansas Education Commissioner, president of the nonprofit Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science, and an early proponent of the positive school climate and culture movement; and
• Kent Peterson: A lifelong scholar of K–12 leadership, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, and the founding director of several Principals Institutes.

“By forming this advisory board, we’re bringing together some of the best minds in the fields that impact culture — building effective relationships, K–12 leadership and positive behavior initiatives, for example,” said Stephan Kohler, CEO of Kickboard, in a prepared statement. “We plan to incorporate their expertise and guidance as we expand our current platform and professional development services into a total climate and culture solution.”

Further information is available on the Kickboard site.