About Us

I would like to extend a warm welcome to you and your student(s) to Kendall-Whittier E.S.  As a key stakeholder in our school community, we welcome your ideas, communication, and support.

We hope that you will choose to be involved in your child’s education by establishing regular communication with your child’s teacher, supporting your child with his/her homework, and participating in the many events and volunteer opportunities that occur throughout the school year. We look forward to partnering with you to help your child reach his/her full educational potential.

It’s going to be a great year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Ronda Kesler
Principal
keslero@tulsaschools.org

I received my Bachelors of Science degree from Northeastern State University and my Masters in Educational Leadership from OSU. I have taught regular, gifted and alternative education in public schools in Texas and Oklahoma for 20+ years.  I spent the majority of my teaching career here in this neighborhood at the former Cleveland Jr. High.  I am a National Board Certified educator.  I also spent two years coaching novice teachers in Tulsa before arriving at Kendall Whittier.  I have one daughter studying at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Curtis Swinford
Assistant Principal
swinfcu@tulsaschools.org

I am a proud Tulsa Public Schools graduate. I earned my Bachelors in Elementary Education and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Oklahoma State University.  

I have taught regular education, gifted education, and reading intervention. I have 13 years of public school teaching experience in Oklahoma and Colorado. In Colorado, I was apart of my school's instructional leadership team as a mentor and master teacher. My duties included teacher evaluation, teacher mentoring, and planning and presenting professional development. I worked on the district’s language arts curriculum team to streamline curriculum across grade levels. 

I also coached middle school girls and boys basketball. At Edison Preparatory I taught AP 7th grade language arts and served as the language arts department chair. I have one son who will be a 3rd grader next year.

Tiffany Thomason
Assistant Principal
thomati@tulsaschools.org

Biography 

In 1861, Reverend Henry Kendall became secretary of the Board of Home Missions for the Presbyterian Church and served for over thirty years until his death in 1892. He also served as pastor of Presbyterian churches in East Bloomfield, New York, and Pittsburgh. Rev. Kendall was called the "missionary statesman" and wanted to spiritualize America's western frontier. He was instrumental in establishing schools for Native Americans throughout the west. Reverend Kendall was called "Great Chief" by thousands of Native Americans due to his efforts to develop a network of finishing schools for girls. 

John Greenleaf Whittier was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the Fireside Poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Whittier is remembered particularly for his anti-slavery writings as well as his book Snow-Bound.

Key Contributions

Kendall College was founded in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1894. The school was named after Rev. Kendall in consideration of his long-time Presbyterian missionary workings in Indian Territory from 1831. Kendall College was later moved to Tulsa and in 1921 merged with the proposed McFarlin College, eventually becoming the University of Tulsa. Reverend Kendall was instrumental in opening schools for Native Americans, especially finishing schools for girls, and providing equal education opportunities. The Presbyterian Church and many Native Americans look up to Rev. Kendall for his work in Indian Territory. 

In 1833, Whittier published the antislavery pamphlet Justice and Expediency, and from there dedicated the next twenty years of his life to the abolitionist cause. The controversial pamphlet destroyed all of his political hopes — as his demand for immediate emancipation alienated both northern businessmen and southern slaveholders — but it also sealed his commitment to a cause that he deemed morally correct and socially necessary. He was a founding member of the American Anti-Slavery Society and signed the Anti-Slavery Declaration of 1833, which he often considered the most significant action of his life.

Relevant Historical Context 

Henry Kendall opened in 1912. The community came together to create one school out of two. Although still in two schools (Kendall and Whittier) at the time, Kendall-Whittier was established in the fall of 1997 and the building construction began on the current site. The school moved into the current building in October of 1998. 

References 

Goslin, T.S., II. (1949). Henry Kendall, Missionary Statesman. Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, 27 (2), 69-87. Retrieved from here. 

Presbyterian Historical Society. (n.d.). Presbyterian Historical Society. Retrieved from here.