Waterside Head Of School Named To CAIS Board Of Directors

STAMFORD, CT — Jamel Keels, the Head of School at Waterside School in Stamford, was recently named to the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS).

Waterside School is a co-educational independent school that "provides equity of opportunity for promising students in pre-kindergarten through 5th grade, cultivating a commitment to academic excellence and ensuring the fullest development of every child’s character and abilities."

"CAIS serves a diverse community of schools from day and boarding, single gender, unique learning profiles, and all divisions of student ages,” said Rick Branson, CAIS Executive Director, in a news release. “Jamel is a reflective and thoughtful leader who will bring his experience and help lead the association to its very bright future."

According to a news release, Keels joined Waterside in 2004 as a fourth grade teacher. He went on to become the school’s Dean of Students in 2012, Assistant Head of School in 2014, before assuming the position of Head of School in 2018.

"The idea of educating students traditionally underrepresented in private schools and providing them with opportunities otherwise unavailable to them, is what attracted me to Waterside,” said Keels in a news release. "from the moment I stepped foot in this one-of-a-kind school, I knew it was the place for me."

Keels graduated from Sacred Heart University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and earned his master's degree in teaching from Manhattanville College. He and his wife, Mariana, live in Greenwich with their three children.