Though retired for several years, Jacqueline Kelly, a former principal of Turner Primary School in Turner and the first woman president of the Maine Principals' Association, still maintains her interest in public education by serving as a life member of NEA and a member of Maine Education Association - Retired (MEA-R). During her distinguished career in education, she shared, "I've tried particularly hard to advance the role of women and non-traditional learners, since I am both." On becoming principal of Turner Primary School, Mrs. Kelly, who regards herself as a "change agent," took on a major restructuring effort to better serve all students and especially special-needs students at her school. Whereas the prior system had grouped special-needs students in "transitional" classrooms that allotted a catching-up year, Mrs. Kelly implemented a model that provided students with an alternative multi-age program for grades one through three. The school offered the multi-age option alongside its standard graded program, thereby offering parents a choice and students the best possible environment for their particular learning style. In 1993, the National Association of Elementary School Principals recognized Mrs. Kelly as Maine's National Distinguished Principal.
1973 University of Maine - Portland-Gorham, B.S.
