Kelly Bock, Head of School

contact: kelly.bock@soulardschool.org

Most of who I am and what I have learned in life has come from children. However, the majority of that learning has occurred during my adult adventures. At 17, I headed to Boulder, Colorado where I majored in Anthropology with a Pre -Med minor. I returned home to St. Louis and worked at the Pediatric Research Institute and Fisher Scientific. (I taught gymnastics and swimming to children on the weekends.) I opted not to go to medical school (reasoning that education would give me more time for a family) and moved to New York instead. I pursued my master ’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at NYU while working at Elliot’s Gym and Studio of the Arts for Kids. There, I started a morning pre- school program call The Little School at Elliot ’s. I finished my studies with a semester at Oxford and a summer of traveling.

In 1997, I opened The Little School & Gym with my sister’s help (Shannon Diamond: Max & Cooper, Nursery). Shortly thereafter, I began my doctoral studies in Foundations of Education at SLU. In 2004, Sarah Christman (then a teacher at The Little School) and I co -founded The Soulard School and its development became the topic of my dissertation. I currently live in Soulard with my husband, Charles, and our 5 children; Madeline, Harry, Tedda, Will, and Frances. In my free time (yes, I do have some), I enjoy reading and writing, working on my quote collection, and going on family adventures.