Kelly's New Interim Principal
Dear staff and families,
I am pleased to announce that Jeff Waters will be the new interim principal of Kelly Elementary School.
Jeff is coming to Kelly from Robert Gray Middle School, where he served as assistant principal since 2019. In his role as assistant principal, he focused on building student voice, centering racial equity, and working with community stakeholders to reimagine the school’s mission vision and core values. Jeff’s work focuses on school improvement, and he has over a decade track record of success ,engaging school communities to develop representative systems and implement school improvement projects.
He began his career in 2012 as a classroom teacher at Boise Eliot/Humboldt K-8 (BEH), where he taught Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Student Leadership, and collaborated with Portland Public Schools Senior Leadership to develop the School Climate Specialist position, a role that also he served in at BEH.
After earning his administrative license, Jeff served as the Assistant Principal at Kraxberger Middle School in the Gladstone School District. In 2019, he was recognized by Trillium Family Services as a 2019 Mental Health Hero for his work to destigmatize mental health conversations and improve student wellness at Kraxberger Middle School.
This year, in collaboration with school and district leaders, Jeff helped facilitate the emergency site relocation of the Robert Gray Middle School community, moving more than 500 students and staff into Jackson Middle School after the January 2024 ice storm. Jeff’s dedication to student well-being and family engagement helped the Gray community to do well during their co-location.
Jeff is a passionate advocate of racial equity and social justice and has published a number of works on the topic. He has also presented at the Oregon Leadership Network Spring Conference, the NW Teachers for Social Justice Conference, and the Northwest Regional Justice Form.
Jeff holds an Associate of Arts degree from Lane Community College, a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of Oregon, and an MA in Teaching from Pacific University's teachers college. He completed school administrator training at Portland State University and has worked with Lewis and Clark College through the Oregon Writing Project.
Please join me in welcoming Jeff Waters as the new interim principal of Kelly Elementary School.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jon Franco
Chief of Schools