The Link Community Charter School Board of Trustees announces the promotion of Hannah Marie Kennedy to Principal of Link Community Charter School effective July 1, 2023. Mrs. Kennedy joined Link in 2014, and from the start, she embraced the mission and vision of Link. While serving as the school’s 7th grad social studies/history teacher, she began, over the years, to take on leadership roles in addition to her teaching responsibilities, including School Culture Leader, Summer Academy Director, and Morning Circle and Advisory Leader. In 2019, she was promoted to the position of vice principal.
Mrs. Kennedy graduated from Saint Peter’s University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Secondary Education and an M.Ed. from the same institution. In her undergraduate career, she spent three years working within the Jersey City Public School System as a lead student intern for the 21st Century Institute of Excellence before accepting full-time employment at Link after graduation. In 2016, Mrs. Kennedy was selected to participate in the highly competitive Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teacher Seminar, an intensive summer program for teachers. Additionally, in 2019 she was one of 12 New Jersey teachers chosen for Jersey Can’s highly respected NJ Teachers Leader Policy Fellowship, a yearlong program focusing on educational policy and advocacy.
Maria Pilar Paradiso, Link’s Head of School, states, “Mrs. Kennedy is deeply committed to educational equity, as is Link. She has proven to be an excellent leader in our school community. Throughout the pandemic, she supported students, families, and teachers in many ways, helping the school continue to deliver a high-quality virtual education when necessary and smooth transitions from in-person to virtual and back when needed. There is much work before us, and as principal, Mrs. Kennedy will help us forge a strong path as we move forward during an unprecedented post-pandemic period in education and an exciting time of grade-level growth for Link, always with our scholars and our mission at the center.”