Ben Russell is the principal of the Harvard-Kent School in Charlestown, bringing a wealth of experience in education and leadership to his role. For the past decade, he served as an inclusion specialist at the Bradley Elementary School in East Boston. Prior to this, Ben was the Senior Program Director for Literacy and Curriculum Design (Pk-5) and the Assistant Director in the Department of Early Childhood for the Boston Public Schools. His career in BPS began as a Kindergarten and First Grade teacher at the John F. Kennedy School in Jamaica Plain, before moving on to become the Principal of the East Zone Early Learning Center in Dorchester.
Ben has also contributed significantly to the field of early education at the state level, serving on the Board of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. He was one of nine leaders appointed by the Governor to serve on this board at its inception and chaired the Public Policy Committee for the Governing Board of the Boston Association for the Education of Young Children.
Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master of Science Degree in Leadership, Policy, and Administration from Wheelock College, as well as a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He lives in Peabody with his wife Lori and their five children: Declan (22), Gavin (20), Aislin (19), Addison (16), and Braden (14).