An administrator in the Kansas City, Kan., school district has been selected as the new principal of Lawrence’s Kennedy Elementary School, pending school board approval and effective July 1.

Chalita Middleton, who is currently completing her fourth year as an assistant principal in the Kansas City school system, replaces Cris Anderson, who will retire in June after seven years at Kennedy and a collective 38 years in education.

“Ms. Middleton is a strong instructional leader with a positive spirit and a heart for children,” Lawrence Superintendent Kyle Hayden said in a news release. “She has solid experience as a teacher, leader and administrator, including leading high-poverty, diverse schools.”

A native of Cleveland, Middleton has served 18 years as a school administrator, reading specialist and classroom teacher, according to the news release. Her professional experience includes time in the nearby Blue Valley school system as well as teaching fourth and fifth grades in Michigan (in Detroit, where she also led a charter school, and in neighboring Canton), Indiana and in her home state of Ohio.

Middleton holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo and a master’s degree from the University of Dayton. In a statement from Lawrence Public Schools, Middleton said she’s “looking forward to learning as well as sharing what I already know,” and welcomes the opportunity to “lead a building again.”

“I was a principal in Detroit before moving to Kansas, and now I’m better equipped in knowing what Kansas is all about and how the educational system works. I’ve been in many places and know that they all work differently,” Middleton said in the news release. “I look forward to getting to know Kennedy families and the community and working with the staff to make sure students are achieving success and becoming their best selves so they become productive members of the community. That’s always my goal.”

The search for Kennedy’s new principal began with the Superintendent’s Leadership Team, members of which screened applicants, conducted interviews and ultimately selected finalists for the position. A school-based team of teachers, parents and community members then interviewed finalists and shared input to inform Hayden’s decision, the news release said.

Kennedy serves approximately 420 students, pre-K through fifth grade. The school is home to the Lawrence district’s early childhood educational readiness program.