President &
Head of School
Dr. Kenneth Rodgers, Jr.
Dr. Kenneth Rodgers, Jr. is President and Head of School. He holds an MA in Education from Pepperdine University and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from USC, where his research focused on critical consciousness development, political efficacy, and the subversion of state violence practiced by Black and Latinx youth activists in Los Angeles. For undergrad, Kenneth attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music and is an accomplished and widely traveled musician and songwriter.
Prior to assuming the Headship, Kenneth served as SLA’s Director of Academics. He has spent time developing academic curricula and instructional strategies at public and charter schools in Los Angeles; has taught and designed coursework in history, economics, psychology, government, English, and politics; and has coached and mentored numerous teachers. Before pursuing a career in education, Kenneth founded and managed a music entertainment business.
Kenneth grew up on the east coast and loves music, film, and coffee. He aspires to engage with farming as a means of stewarding land, growing food, and movement building.
Assistant
Head of School
Dr. Nicoli Stamps
Dr. Nicoli Stamps is Assistant Head of School. She is a little bit of a rare bird in the sense that she was born and raised in Los Angeles and decided she would like an opportunity to engage with different cultures across the country. Her desire to move far away from the West Coast led to her receiving her BA in Psychology with minors in Education and Sociology from Duke University. After spending four years in the South, she traveled north where she received an EDM in Prevention, Science, and Practice and a secondary EDM in School Social Work from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Most recently, Nicoli earner her Doctorate in Education (EdD) from USC in Educational Psychology.
Prior to SLA, Nicoli spent the last seven years working for a public charter school in South Los Angeles. She was initially hired as a DIS Counselor who provided social and emotional counseling services to students with identified learning disabilities. After spending several years building out the school’s social and emotional learning program, she transitioned to become Assistant Principal where she encouraged the ninth grade team to think about how students successfully transition to high school, continued to develop the school’s social emotional program, and oversaw the special education and electives departments.
Outside of education, Nicoli loves to discover new restaurants, explore new countries, and go to the movies. She is also a huge sport enthusiast! Feel free to ask her to share her story about why she was destined to become a Lakers fan.