Deborah Kenny
| Deborah Kenny | |
|---|---|
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| Alma mater |
University of Pennsylvania Teachers College, Columbia University |
| Occupation | Founder and CEO of the Harlem Village Academies; Author of Born to Rise |
Deborah Kenny is an American educator, author of Born to Rise and the founder and Chief Executive of Harlem Village Academies, a network of charter schools in Harlem, New York.
Kenny started the Harlem Village Academies charter schools shortly after her husband died from leukemia in 2001 as the founding principal of the flagship Harlem Village Academy. Previously, Kenny served as Group President of Sesame Street Publishing, and as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development of Time Warner's Parenting Group. She is a former classroom teacher with expertise in youth leadership training and curriculum development. In starting the schools, Kenny was heavily influenced by Jack Welch’s approach to leadership and accountability.
Kenny holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in comparative international education, and a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kenny is Chief Executive Officer Of Harlem Village Academies, a network of charter schools in Harlem. She has described an overemphasis on "The program elements…things like curriculum and class size and school size and longer day” and believes that none of these program elements are nearly as important as the quality of teaching in the schools. "If you had an amazing teacher who was passionate and given the freedom and support to teach well that was just 100 times more important than anything else," she stated.
Kenny believes that the emphasis on program elements is one of the main reasons it has been so hard to repeat the successes of good schools. "They were trying to replicate programs instead of trying to develop people.” Instead, Kenny said, “I became obsessed with how to develop great teachers. You put all of your focus on finding great people, and you establish a culture that helps them constantly learn and grow and become better at what they do. You have to provide a community in the school that supports and respects teachers. And you have to give them the kind of freedom that allows their passion for teaching to flourish.”
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