KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School (KNDMS) serves students in grades 5 through 8. KNDMS’s mission is to provide an excellent and equitable education that enables all students to develop the knowledge, skills, and character strengths necessary to climb the mountain to and through college, career, and lead lives of choice and opportunity.
If you have any questions about the school, please contact us at (303) 307-1970 or fill out this form to request more information.
Cristina Bissell
Principal, KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School
Cristina Bissell is an educational leader with over two decades of experience in public education, dedicated to equity, excellence, and ensuring every student has access to an outstanding education.
She began her career in 2004 as a Spanish teacher at an IB middle school in Colorado Springs, later coaching high school soccer through 2011—an experience that shaped her "One Team, One Goal" leadership philosophy.
Since 2011, Cristina has led exclusively in Title I schools: as Assistant Principal at Kearney Middle School (2011–2015), Principal of Kemp Elementary School, and Principal of Prairie View Middle School (2016–2022), which achieved Performance status in 2019. She then led Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College (2022–2025) and currently serves as Principal of KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School. She is also an adjunct professor in Regis University's Educational Leadership Master's Program, mentoring future school leaders.
Cristina's leadership is grounded in the belief that equity and excellence go hand in hand, and that people rise when they're supported, challenged, and believed in. Outside of work, she is a proud mom to her son, Nolan.
Cristina Bissell
Principal, KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School
