Our Principal

Kortni Stafford is the principal of McKinley Middle School and McKinley Technology High School. Prior to joining McKinley, Ms. Stafford was the Principal of Kelly Miller Middle School in Washington, DC.  As Principal of Kelly Miller, she has increased parent participation in home visits and Student-led conferences by 6%. Previously, she was an Assistant Principal at McKinley Technology High School, where she served as the instructional leader for the Math, Science, STEM, and World Language departments.  Kortni Stafford has completed the Mary Jane Patterson Fellowship, an intensive 18-month program that develops DCPS leaders into extraordinary principals. As a fellow, she attended executive leadership sessions at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, received personal leadership coaching, was mentored by two high-performing DCPS principals, and completed principal residences at West Education Campus and Columbia Heights Education Campus during the 2013-2014 School year.

 

Prior to becoming a Mary Jane Patterson Fellow, Kortni Stafford has managed a range of initiatives in her role as an Assistant Principal at Ballou Senior High School. Among her primary responsibilities, she managed the Freshman Success Academy, which has the imperative task of boosting school retention and promotion rates. Ms. Stafford also led Ballou’s academic leadership team in the creation and implementation of a school-wide literacy plan and a professional learning community that works together to increase literacy skills for Ballou's students. In addition to her responsibilities at Ballou, she also served as the District Director for the renowned AVID Program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) for Perry Street Preparatory Public Charter School. Further, she is a selected participant in the ASCD Emerging Leaders program, which prepares promising leaders on a national level.