May 29, 2018

King named principal of Northwest’s Horace Mann Laboratory School

Laura King

Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Education has announced Laura King has been named principal at Horace Mann Laboratory School as it prepares for the 2018-2019 academic year.

King began her employment at Horace Mann in the fall of 2014. She worked there this past year as an instructor for a first and second grade, multiage co-teaching classroom as well as an elementary practicum supervisor.

“She will be excellent, and is an invested leader with a vision for the future and a deep appreciation for our past,” Dr. Tim Wall, the dean of Northwest’s School of Education, said.

King joined the Horace Mann staff as a first grade instructor. She has participated in multiple leadership and instruction training opportunities, including the Reggio Alliance Study Abroad Experience in Reggio Emelia, Italy, and the Teacher’s College Summer Institute for Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University in New York. She also has presented at national conferences and works as a Pathways to Reading trainer.

King, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the education field, worked previously as early childhood coordinator and a kindergarten teacher at St. Francis Xavier School in St. Joseph, Missouri, and as a first and second grade teacher at Hosea Elementary School in St. Joseph.

She is pursuing her Doctor of Education in educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She earned her master’s degree in education at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, and she has a bachelor’s degree in education and early childhood from Missouri Western State University.

King replaces Sandy Seipel, who is resigning her role as Horace Mann principal to join the Northwest faculty as an assistant professor of early childhood education.

About Horace Mann Laboratory School

Horace Mann places an emphasis on innovative and interactive teaching practices accompanied with individualized instruction by dedicated and caring faculty as well as staff and administrators.

As a laboratory school, Horace Mann is a clinical teaching environment for students in Northwest’s School of Professional Education. The relationship between master teachers, practicum teachers and graduate assistants allows Horace Mann students to reap the benefits of low student-to-teacher ratio in classrooms that implement innovative teaching practices and provide learning experiences designed to stimulate each child's creative learning abilities and problem-solving skills.

The school employs Project Lead the Way, a project and problem-based curriculum that includes science, technology, engineering and math in an engaging, rigorous and relevant format that is innovative and builds critical thinking skills.

For more information about Horace Mann, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/horacemann or contact the school at 660.562.1233.