Katherine Leach (At-Large)

Katherine "Katie" Leach, is deeply humbled and thankful for the appointment by Governor Scott to the At large Seat on the Broward County School Board. The opportunity to serve on the School Board is the continuation of her life's work in the field of education; and she considers it an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Broward County as a School Board Member. For the 2011-2012 school year, Katie will be the School Board's representative to the Performing Arts Center Authority; the Broward County Juvenile Justice Board (alternate); the Broward Regional Juvenile Detention Center Advisory Board (Alternate); the Broward Education Foundation (alternate); and the Early Learning Coalition (alternate). Katie also serves on additional boards for various community organizations.

Katie is married to Jason Leach, a local businessman, and is the mother of two young children who attend Broward County Schools. A former student of Broward County, Katie began her teaching career as an intern at Piper High School and Pompano Beach Middle School in 1994 after graduation from Florida Atlantic University. In her professional life Katie has been an ESE classroom teacher at Crystal Lake Middle and Sawgrass Springs Middle schools; an educational consultant for students with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities; and, until her appointment to the School Board, was employed by Nova Southeastern University's Mailman Segal Center for Human Development's Autism Consortium. In between teaching positions in South Florida, Katie has taught in the Los Angeles United School District in a highly-gifted magnet school, as the ESE classroom teacher of a cluster for high-performing students with autism.

As a volunteer, Katie's focus has been on children and education; and she currently serves on the Education Advisory Board of Fort Lauderdale, and has served on the Broward Schools Parent/Community Involvement Task Force. Other community commitments include the Autism Society of America, the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale, the Board of the Museum of Discovery and Science, and the Broward County Children Services Board.

Katie deeply believes that education serves as the foundation for a strong democracy, and that every child in every city in Broward County deserves a quality education. It is her goal to help achieve that by bringing sound fiscal principles to School Board spending in these challenging economic times — without sacrificing the quality of education for our students that must be a priority.

As a parent, teacher and advocate for the education of children, Katie hit the ground running and will work diligently to improve the educational experience for all students and teachers in Broward County.

At-Large Board Members Represent All Broward County Public Schools:
Elementary Schools | Middle Schools | High Schols | Centers | Charter Schools