The Board of Trustees and Head of School, Diana Lam are pleased to announce the selection of Nicole Michna Bradeen as the Conservatory Lab Charter School's Pre-K to 8 Principal. The selection process included input from all segments of the school community including parents, staff, teachers, El Sistema staff, administration, and the Board of Trustees.

Mrs. Bradeen earned her Master's Degree in Education from Lesley College and a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Columbia University, in New York. She has extensive teaching, coaching, and administrative experience. This includes five years as Program Director for Breakthrough Collaborative, an intensive summer program for low income urban middle school students. It also includes 5 years as Academic Program Manager at the Esther B. Clark School in California, a school serving public school students with acute emotional, behavioral, and learning needs referred from 30 sending districts. In addition, she served as Dean of Instruction for Coliseum College Preparatory Academy in California, a public school working with a student population with high dropout rates. As a former clarinetist and pianist, she understands the power of discipline, creativity, and teamwork that comes from making music.

Mrs. Bradeen's strengths include her experience of fortifying special services to address the individual and varying needs of students. She is an instructional leader and curriculum thinker, passionate about education and working with teachers, is a clear communicator, and her collaborative approach and problem solving style resonate with her stated belief that, "Building relationships drives change."

Nicole Michna Bradeen's appointment begins July 1, 2015. I hope you will join us in welcoming her to the Conservatory Lab Charter School.