Kathrine M. Stewart

Grandview Elementary School
Grandview ISD
Grandview, Texas
kstewart@gvisd.org

Strong academics have long been a hallmark of education at Grandview Elementary School. Under the leadership of principal Kathrine M. Stewart, Grandview has sustained its strong track record of academic achievement while shifting into a more holistic approach to teaching and learning. In making this shift, Stewart has supported teachers in stepping out of their comfort zone by initiating in-depth professional development with Capturing Kids’ Hearts, a program promoting social-emotional wellbeing, relationship-driven campus culture, and student connectedness. Character education is now a core component of Grandview’s school culture, anchored by morning assemblies where students recite the school mantra and receive lessons focused on core competencies of citizenship and community. These lessons are referenced in behavioral intervention and reinforced across the curriculum through project-based learning and through the Champions of Character program, which showcases exemplary behavior. Grandview’s comprehensive uptake of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts model has been so successful that the school has earned the Showcase School Award every year since 2018. The school was also named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2015 and a top 300 school by U.S. News and World Report in 2022. Stewart holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Stephen F. Austin State University, a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas, and a Principal Certification from the Education Service Center Region II.