Kim Berndt, Next Upper School Principal, Believes in Explorers

When Kim Berndt—the Director of the Upper School at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia—learned about Colorado Academy and its history of change and innovation, she was intrigued; when she then got to see firsthand the transformative teaching and learning that enliven its classrooms, she was hooked.

“One of the things I look for in a school is authenticity,” says Berndt. “I like to make sure that what I’m seeing and hearing from others is the same thing that I’m witnessing in person.”

And what she absorbed around campus on a visit in fall 2025 was “a truly consistent story of kindness and community and absolute commitment from faculty, staff, students, and families.” A lifelong teacher, Berndt saw in Upper School classrooms abundant evidence of an institution living its mission: “Students were just joyful about their experiences here, and it was clear they felt at home because they’re in a place where the adults who care for them are thriving.”

CA will become home for Berndt, as well, when she steps into the role of Upper School Principal in July 2026. “Throughout its history, CA has pivoted in order to thrive. I feel like it is a place where I can thrive, too,” she says.

In her current leadership role at Penn Charter, Berndt has discovered her passion for reimagining assessment practices that center equity and student learning, authentically elevating student voice in shaping community, and supporting experiential programs that honor student agency and whole-child development. Her work is founded on the belief that rigorous academics, purposeful innovation, and a strong sense of community are inseparable elements of an excellent education.

But if there is one thing that most distinguishes enduring schools like CA, Berndt says, it is culture. 

Having begun her career as a biology teacher, she observes that just like the human body—which, though our cells are constantly being reborn, remains whole and recognizable through time—great schools may see generations of students, employees, and families come and go, but they always remain fundamentally themselves. 

Authentic culture makes the difference between surviving and thriving, according to Berndt. 

“What are our shared beliefs and our shared commitments to this place?” she asks. “How are we continuously caring for the culture of this school, sustaining and nourishing it?”

The answer: hard work that never stops. “It’s what I’ve seen so much of at Colorado Academy: asking difficult questions, but also giving ourselves grace and making sure we are calling everyone in, staying open to conversation. Because those are the people our world needs more of—individuals who lean in with curiosity in order to make an impact.”

A focus on student experience

Throughout her career in education, within schools both public and private, boarding and day, Berndt has sought to connect student learning to the larger world, and ensure engaging student experiences are the foundation of a healthy school community. 

Beginning as a science teacher, Berndt rose into leadership roles as she helped to design new experiential programs and science initiatives at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Mass., and then shepherded Upper School students at the Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, through the COVID-19 pandemic. There, she focused on preserving student and faculty communities in the face of unprecedented challenges and helped to create a new culture and community space, a need identified by students.

A lacrosse and ice hockey coach as well as a classroom teacher, Berndt says, “I’m all about teams. I love it when you can’t point to just one person who’s responsible for achieving a larger goal.”

Next, as Director of Upper School at Penn Charter, she served as a member of the school’s Senior Leadership Team, co-leading schoolwide strategic initiatives including the development of new protocols to support student wellness and a transition from AP to school-designed Advanced Studies courses emphasizing interdisciplinary rigor, authentic assessment, and real-world relevance.

In discovering CA, Berndt says, “I was struck by an Upper School culture that is both rigorous and deeply human. I was particularly drawn to how CA has differentiated Advanced Studies and Advanced Studies & Research courses, signaling commitment to depth and real-world connection.”

As an educator and school leader, she continues, “I have been steadfast in cultivating supportive and challenging learning environments for the humans in front of me. To teach students well and realize their potential, we must truly see them, meet them where they are, uncover and celebrate their strengths, honor their identities, and invite them into important work. When we value students as the remarkable individuals they are and embrace the intellectual wealth they bring, extraordinary learning happens.”

She’s certainly had abundant personal experience in nurturing young learners: Her own three children have been an essential part of her journey, she says. Her eldest, Carter, passed away when he was 25 in 2021. Jacob, her second-oldest child, is now 27 and is a public defender in Boston. Zoe, the youngest at 24, is a social studies teacher at Madeira School in Virginia. They’ll come with Berndt on the cross-country trip to Colorado. “It will be our family vacation!”

Building explorers

Berndt is more than a leader looking inward at what makes for excellence in schools; a dog-lover, she keeps her gaze trained outward, just like her own two canine companions, on what’s coming around the corner and what students will need to meet it.

“If it’s on the front page of the New York Times,” she says, “then our students should be able to talk about it.”

The question, then, for every Upper School leader, she explains, is, “How do we help students and faculty have the language to engage in conversations, no matter what the topic is? How do we practice that day after day?”

At the same time, Berndt notes, “Part of our job is helping our students navigate the world that’s out there in front of them right now.”

She goes on, “I feel like I’m doing my best work when students are leading in that work, when faculty are leading that work. I’m always thinking about how we can leverage all of the incredible talents and skills and passions of the people in the community to set them up for success.”

In the recent, widely-praised guide for families and educators, The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, by Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, Berndt has found a source of ideas that can help schools move forward.

“When I am inspired, everyone around me knows it. And if you ask anyone who spoke with me for more than five minutes this summer, they learned about The Disengaged Teen. I’ve become an enthusiastic seeker of resources that challenge my thinking and inform my practice as both a leader and an educator.”

In the research-based guide, Anderson and Winthrop identify four “learning modes” to help adults tailor their support for students, offering practical strategies to foster curiosity and connection to learning in a complex world. Engagement, they argue, is crucial for teens to thrive in the “age of agency,” moving beyond older notions of achievement. The four learning modes—Resister, Passenger, Achiever, and Explorer—progress toward increasing mastery of critical skills like curiosity and self-awareness, crucial in navigating an AI-driven world that demands internal motivation rather than external pressure focused only on outcomes.

“My goal in education is to nurture Explorers,” she explains. “When in Explorer mode, young people are not just cognitively engaged in school, not just meeting behavioral expectations successfully, but are emotionally invested as well—because they have found meaning in what they do.”

Not all students will necessarily find their lifelong passion in high school, she adds. “But all can identify and explore interests, and build the skills and mindsets that help them do that. Research shows that when kids possess those abilities, they’re able to transfer them to any domain, even when the world and their path in it might change dramatically.”

According to Berndt, young adults love to ask, “What am I going to do with my life? If things are going to keep changing, then how do I uncover what’s really interesting to me?”

Education, she says, must prepare them to answer these questions on their own. “They have to understand the value of thinking deeply in order to make meaning in their lives. We can have our sights set on certain college acceptances or career outcomes, but the reality is that life constantly throws all of us twists and turns, and we need to make sure our kids are able to find their authentic voice and thrive.”