Broadneck High School Principal Rachel Kennelly To Head New Old Mill West High School

Rachel Kennelly is leaving Broadneck High School after seven years leading the school, including three years as principal, to embark on a new adventure as head of the new Old Mill West High School in July.

The Severn-based Old Mill West High School is slated to open in fall 2024.

Kennelly began her career teaching dance at Old Mill High School. While she loved teaching, she soon wanted to expand her role.

“I just found myself really loving the high school experience as a whole and I wanted to be part of the whole school experience outside of my classroom,” Kennelly said. “So, I figured the best way to do that was to seek some leadership positions and try my hand at administration.”

After two years in administration at Old Mill High School, an opportunity presented itself at Broadneck to take a larger leadership role as assistant principal.

The staff at Broadneck welcomed Kennelly and helped her learn how to lead a school.

“The staff at Broadneck is just such a wonderful, wonderfully talented group of people,” Kennelly said. “It was really nice to be able to arrive at Broadneck as a first-year assistant principal with all of this knowledge around me. What I didn’t know, I leaned on people that were there that I could ask questions of and really kind of get used to the role and find my own way.”

In 2020, Kennelly became the principal of Broadneck High School and helped to lead staff and students through the pandemic. During the first day of hybrid learning, Kennelly went to greet students as they arrived on their first day back.

“I said hello to a group of kids that were walking in, and one of them said to me, ‘Ms. Kennelly, we’re home,’” Kennelly recalled. “And it just warms my heart that they were so excited to be back at school and felt so at home at Broadneck.”

Broadneck High School graduate Corinne Kilpatrick is one student who will miss those greetings.

“We had a very personal relationship,” Kilpatrick said. “She would always smile at me and always ask me how my day was going, and she’d just be very genuine.”

In her time at Broadneck High School, Kennelly enjoyed seeing the students’ passion for learning.

“You can't turn a corner without somebody doing something really fantastic, whether it's something for one of their classes — there's always kids in the hallway testing projects and making different things for their various classes,” Kennelly said. “Or after school, there’s so much going on. There's so many club opportunities and different things that there's always something to support kids with, something to cheer them on, something to go and celebrate.”

Over the years, Kennelly has also helped bring in new teachers and coaches who helped continue to foster a friendly, supportive learning environment.

“The people that we've brought in and the people that work with our kids every day are just absolutely spectacular,” Kennelly said.

Although Kennelly will miss the staff and students at Broadneck High School, she looks forward to having the chance to help create Old Mill West High School.

“I'm really excited to get to hire staff and create traditions and all of the structures and programs and various facets of high school that my team and I get to do together,” Kennelly said.

Kilpatrick said her fellow Broadneck students were surprised by the move but happy for Kennelly, who was well-liked in the building.

“She’s definitely capable of being a new principal,” Kilpatrick said. “She’s really blessed to be able to do that and I think she’ll be able to fit the role perfectly, and she’ll go and be a great leader to the teachers. She’ll be respected by the students.”

At the new school, Kennelly hopes to foster the same sense of school pride that she witnessed at Broadneck.

“There's such a storied history about Broadneck, and I hope to be able to lay the foundation and begin that culture at Old Mill West,” Kennelly said.