Michelle Kocar

As the coordinator of school leadership programs, Dr. Michelle Kocar oversees the programming and faculty in the principal and superintendent licensure programs. She teaches a variety of courses within both programs, primarily those related to curriculum/assessment/instruction, resource management, staff evaluation and data analytics for education. Kocar supervises the superintendent licensure internship candidates, guiding them through the requirements to earn licensure as a district superintendent or building level principal. Her research focus is in the area of student growth and value-added as well as women in educational leadership.

Kocar served most recently as the director of analytics and strategic initiatives for Princeton City School District near Cincinnati, Ohio. She has over 25 years of experience and has worked as a teacher or administrator in both suburban and urban settings with experiences in district sizes as small as 1,700 students and up to 10,000 plus students. In teaching positions, she always taught in an inclusive classroom environment in the areas of English, math, social studies and science as the core content teacher. In administrative leadership positions, she worked at the elementary, high school and district levels in student services, curriculum/assessment/instruction and strategic planning/data analytics.

She started her career outside the field of education working for Sara Lee Corporation in management and operations; the field of education is her second career. The skills and experience she gained through the field of business were easily transferred to the role of building and district leader. With a B.A. in business and communications, she successfully applied these skill sets in the context of education.

Kocar has also served as a value-added leader for the Ohio Department of Education and Battelle for Kids supporting districts across State Support Regions 2 and 3. This expertise in student growth, value-added metrics and data analysis has allowed her to support districts throughout the state of Ohio in increasing student growth through evidence-based instructional and school improvement practices. She continues to provide support services to districts in the areas of data analytics, school improvement, strategic planning, curriculum, assessment and instruction. Kocar also develops cost-effective digital data collection and analysis tools related to these consultation areas.