24 April 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Dr. Beryl A. New, an administrator with Topeka Public Schools, retired on Monday after 35 years in education. A reception was held in her honor at the Brown v. Board of Education Historic Building.
New, the director of the Certified Personnel and Equity Council, began her career in the Topeka Public School District as a student. She graduated from Topeka High in 1970 and went on to attend college at Washburn University where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She then went to the University of Kansas to earn her Doctorate.
She came back to the Topeka Public School District in 1988 when she worked as an English teacher at Topeka High until 2000. She transitioned into also being a counselor as well as a teacher during the 1997-2000 school years. From 2000-2005, she was the assistant principal at Highland Park High School.
From 2005-2010, New worked for Lawrence Public Schools, where she served as both the assistant and associate principal at Lawrence High School. During this time, she was introduced to Courageous Conversations About Race.
In 2010, New transitioned back to Highland Park to serve as the Principal up until 2017. In July of 2017, she moved to the Burnett Administrative Center to serve as the Director of Certified Personnel and the Director of Equity.
New also serves as a member of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission and the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. She is on the board of directors for Midland Care Hospice, SENT and Keys for Networking Kansas.
New also is a member of the NAACP, the Topeka Alliance of Black School Educators, a co-chair on the Topeka Public Schools Equity Council, the Topeka Public Schools Minority Leadership Academy, Included, Momentum 2022, the American Association of School Personnel Administrators, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the School Superintendents Association and the Faith Temple Church.
In January 2022, Dr. New was selected to be the chair of the Kansas African Affairs Commission.