Congdon Park Elementary Principal Kathi Kusch Marshall Wins MESPA Northeast Leadership Award

Kathi Kusch Marshall, principal of Congdon Park Elementary School in Duluth Public Schools, has been named the Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association Division Leadership Award winner for the Northeast Division, recognizing a 15-year tenure that has brought Safe Routes to School, Farm to School, and new arts and enrichment offerings such as drumming and art clubs to the Jay Cooke neighborhood school.

MESPA executive director Michelle Krell praised Marshall in a news release reproduced in the Duluth News Tribune, saying, “Strong schools begin with strong principals who lift others up.” Krell continued, “Kathi Kusch Marshall’s leadership has created a ripple effect of collaboration, innovation, and hope throughout the Northeast Division. Her focus on equity, connection, and the whole child has made a profound impact not just on Congdon Park Elementary, but on the broader educational community.”

Marshall’s path to the Congdon Park principalship began as a teacher at Linwood Elementary in Forest Lake, where a principal encouraged her to pursue school administration. Returning to Duluth, she took a long-term substitute position at Nettleton Math and Science Magnet School, which led to 19 years at Nettleton — eight years as a teacher and 11 years as the assistant principal. “I am a better person having served the hillside community at Nettleton,” Marshall said in the Duluth News Tribune excerpt. With the Red Plan, Nettleton closed, which eliminated her assistant principal position; that summer she interviewed for the Congdon Park principal position, where she has served for the last 15 years.

Under Marshall’s leadership, Congdon Park has implemented holistic programs that the Duluth News Tribune highlighted as part of the rationale for MESPA recognition. The school adopted Safe Routes to School, “which promotes physical wellness,” and Farm to School, “which links healthy eating to learning readiness.” The school also expanded arts and enrichment opportunities by introducing drumming and art clubs, changes school leaders credit with strengthening connection and engagement for students across grade levels.

Social and district channels confirmed the announcement: an Instagram post from the Congdon Park account reads in part, “We're proud to share that Kathi Kusch Marshall, Principal of @congdonparkschool in @duluthpublicschools, has been named the MESPA Northeast” — the provided caption is truncated. The Duluth News Tribune published a photograph with the piece credited to Teri Cadeau / The Trust Project; the image file referenced in the article excerpt is kathi-and-other-principals.png.

A separate school that shares the Congdon name is located in New Bedford, Massachusetts and should not be conflated with Duluth’s Congdon Park. John B. Congdon Elementary School in New Bedford, led by Principal Darcie Aungst, was named a 2020 National Blue Ribbon School. The New Bedford release quoted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: “Congratulations on your recognition as a 2020 Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing National Blue Ribbon School! The U.S. Department of Education acknowledges your students’ success as an inspiring example of how teachers, parents, and community leaders can work together to help students prepare for what comes next,” Secretary DeVos wrote in a letter dated today to Congdon Principal Darcie Aungst. Mayor Jon Mitchell praised that school’s sustained excellence in a statement that reads in part, “Over the last several years, the Congdon School has established itself as one of the best elementary schools in Massachusetts – if not the best. ... That one of New Bedford’s elementary schools is in the discussion of ‘America’s best’ is also a reflection of how far the school ...” and Principal Darcie Aungst said, “Five years ago Congdon was ranked in the bottom 20% of schools in the state. Today we were named one of the top schools in the country! This climb to success happened because the staff, students, and community worked together with the strong belief that ALL of our students can achieve at high levels. We vowed to never give up and to improve every day because the work we do every day at this school is too important,” she said.

The MESPA honor places Marshall among Minnesota principals singled out for leadership and gives local educators and families a named example of sustained school-level initiatives - Safe Routes to School, Farm to School, and expanded arts - that district leaders say support equity, connection, and the whole child at Congdon Park Elementary.