Staff

Kim Guilarte

Kim M Guilarte is the Chief Operating Officer for over 30 Mater Academy schools throughout the nation. She is an experienced and accomplished educator with over 27 years of experience. In addition, she has been the founding Principal for 5 schools.

Ms. Guilarte was the founder and Principal of Mater Academy, a Title 1 school, from 1998 to 2009. As Principal, she was responsible for overseeing the daily school operations of approximately 750 students and over 50 staff members. During her 11 years at Mater Academy, the school received State recognition as an "A" school from the Florida Department of Education. In addition, the school achieved Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act for those years. Ms. Guilarte has also served on the Governing Board of Directors for Somerset Academy, Inc. for 4 years and Doral Academy, Inc. for 12 years.

From 2009-2021, Ms. Guilarte served as founding Principal of Somerset Academy Elementary South Miami and Somerset Academy Middle South Miami. Under her administration, Somerset Academy South Miami schools have been recognized by Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the Florida Department of Education as two of the highest performing schools in the District for the past 12 years. Under her leadership as Principal, Somerset Academy South Miami schools were High Performing Schools and appointed as Schools of Excellence in 2016. Ms. Guilarte was also the founding Principal of Doral Academy from 1999-2000 and ISAAC: Integrated Science and Asian Culture Academy from 2009-2014.

Ms. Guilarte has devoted her entire professional career to serving students in pursuit of academic success. Based on the results reported under the State of Florida Accountability Program, schools under Ms. Guilarte’s direction have earned a total of 25 “A’s” throughout her tenure. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Champion School Leader Award presented by the Florida Consortium of Public Schools and in 2020, Somerset Academy Middle South Miami was the recipient of the National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence award by the US Department of Education.

Ms. Guilarte continues to prove that all students can successfully perform at high academic levels. She believes that setting high expectations for student learning and offering multiple opportunities for all students to acquire requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a safe and nurturing environment is the recipe for success. The key to achieving successful learning for all students is the school’s implementation of research–based instructional strategies taught by a highly qualified instructional staff, and also the use of innovative resources in a technology-rich setting.

In her new role, she will be guiding all the Mater schools in the fulfillment of the Mater Academy Mission and Vision.