Deborah Kenny

Deborah Kenny is an American educator, author of The Well-Educated Child^[2] and Born to Rise.^[1] Kenny is the founder and Chief Executive of Harlem Village Academies,^[3] a network of charter schools in Harlem, New York, and founder of the Deeper Learning Institute,^[4] a graduate school and learning lab embedded in the HVA campus. As one of the most prominent educators in the country, Kenny has advocated for the importance of deeper learning in PreK-12 education, including performance assessment, student agency, restorative discipline, and intrinsic motivation.

Kenny started the Harlem Village Academies charter schools^[5] shortly after her husband died of leukemia in 2001^[6] 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, where she designed educational guides for expectant and new mothers. 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, by Geoff Canada’s approach to community engagement, and by the constructivist approach to pedagogy.^[6]

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 founder and Chief Executive Officer of Harlem Village Academies (HVA), a network of five charter schools based in Harlem: two elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school, and the Deeper Learning Institute (DLI). HVA is the only group of charter schools in New York State offering the Montessori program as well as the International Baccalaureate (IB) for all students.  

In 2002, after two years of field research and startup planning, the Harlem Village Academies charters were submitted and subsequently approved by the Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York. In its early years HVA partnered with a local community based organization, the East Harlem Council for Community Improvement (EHCCI).

In 2003, the first HVA was opened as a middle school in Harlem with Dr. Kenny serving as founding principal. The first class of students entered the school in 5^th grade. In 2005, the second HVA middle school was opened. The two middle schools are called HVA West Elementary and HVA East Elementary. “The majority of the youngsters come into the middle schools performing at three to four years behind their grade levels."^[7] In thinking about the design for the schools, “It never crossed Ms. Kenny’s mind that a rich and abiding intellectual life was out of the reach of the kids growing up in a touch urban environment.”^[7]

In August 2007, HVA opened its third school: a high school called HVA High. The high school was initially located inside the EHCCI community center, and eventually developed a new school facility built through a public-private partnership. In 2009, with 400 students on the wait list for its middle schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called HVA “the poster child for this country” and a model of President Obama’s educational aspirations.^[8]

In 2012, HVA opened its fourth and fifth schools: the two HVA elementary schools. The first class of elementary students entered in kindergarten. These schools are known as HVA East Elementary and HVA West Elementary. The vision for the kindergarten program was inspired by early-childhood development experts such as Nancy Carlsson-Paige. The HVA kindergarten promoted the idea that, “Play is not a break from learning or a way to fill time for the little ones: play, imagination and discovery are how kindergartners learn."^[9]

In 2016, consistent with Kenny’s vision of deeper learning, HVA began offering the International Baccalaureate (IB), and in 2020 shifted to “IB for All” in which all students are engaged in a rigorous course of study. In 2020, as part of Kenny’s expansion of the organization’s focus on deeper learning at all grade levels, Kenny conceived of the idea of opening a PreK based on the Montessori method. The first HVA Montessori PreK program opened in 2021.

Kenny has been the academic leader of HVA since founding the schools. She has written a landmark book about K-12 education, The Well-Educated Child, based on her decades of educational experience.

Kenny is a proponent of respecting teachers. She has said, "The respect for teachers has declined and that is not ok. As a nation we have to respect teachers more. Give the teachers a chance to be their best. You have to treat them as professionals."^[10]

Some of the country's most powerful leaders in business, finance, media, and entertainment have become close with Kenny and involved with her work in Harlem, including Hugh Jackman,^[11] Barry Diller, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg,^[12] John Legend,^[11] Katie Couric, Steve Forbes,^[13] Jonathan Gray, and Edward Lewis. President George W. Bush visited the flagship Harlem Village Academy in 2007 calling it "a model of excellence."^[14]

In 2013, Kenny founded the Deeper Learning Institute to offer NY State initial certification in childhood grades 1–6 and students with disabilities, as well as a master’s in childhood and special education. The Deeper Learning Institute prepares teachers to educate children to become confident, critical thinkers. Like medical students in a teaching hospital, graduate students learn through immersion in effective classrooms within the K-12 schools on the campus.^[15]

In describing the vision for the Deeper Learning Institute, Kenny explains that she believes in, “a much more ambitious view of teaching and learning” in which children are “intellectually curious, driven, tenacious, motivated, fiercely independent thinkers, who care about the quality of their work, who are intrinsically motivated.” She also notes that doing that well is much harder.” Her approach to instruction at the Deeper Learning Institute is to place the highest priority on student-thinking. “Every single thing that happens in a classroom all should be designed to push student-thinking, elicit their best thinking, and hold them accountable to really thinking at the highest level possible.”^[15]

In addition, Kenny founded the Deeper Learning Institute on the idea that “it is important to raise children to be leaders, not followers. To be independent, not obedient. There’s such a profound difference between respectful obedience and respectful independence. Respectful obedience requires the constant presence of a reward or a punishment. Whereas respectful independence means we have taught this child to internalize the character traits”^[4] that the school and parents find valuable. 

Kenny’s educational philosophy was informed by the Quaker schooling tradition that seeks to “nurture a person rooted as much in the unseen as in the seen” and by the conviction that all children deserve an education of the finest caliber. The founding document of HVA, its charter application, described a vision for schools that foster student agency, intellectual engagement, and intrinsic motivation: “Imagine a school where students work so intensely that the world outside the essay or problem or experiment before them seems muffled and far away. Their work leaves them sweaty, exhausted and satisfied. They take their work home not because somebody told them that it’s homework, but because it’s theirs, they can’t leave it behind, they’re not done with it yet. The problem still needs solving, or the question must be figured out.” The document continued describing the school philosophy: “As they pursue a demanding course of study, we want our students to think critically, argue passionately, and take ownership of their learning. We believe a complete education includes the nurturing of a wholesome character and universal moral virtues. We hope that each student will cultivate friendships marked by dignity and compassion.” Finally, the document explained that, “We are persuaded that the marks of a successful student are precise thought, the ability to speak rationally and write clearly, summoning evidence to support one’s arguments, the willingness to examine the grounds of one’s arguments, and to acceded graciously, when appropriate, to stronger opinions. The master of these habits of scholarship simultaneously requires and fosters the intellectual capacity and moral virtues necessary for students to become active and thoughtful democratic citizens.^[16]

Kenny embraces Martin Haberman’s denunciation of the pedagogy of poverty: “overly directive, mind-numbing, mundane, anti-intellectual acts” such as isolated drills, rote learning, worksheets, and presentations that make minimal cognitive demands. Her philosophy of deeper learning centers on ideas such as: intrinsic motivation, performance assessment, restorative discipline, student self-direction, application of knowledge, culturally responsive teaching, mindfulness, compelling curriculum, and independent thinking.^[17] In addition, Kenny's educational philosophy is built on her vision to create schools where she would be happy to send her own children. "I had five core things in mind for my kids, and that's what I want for our students. I wanted them to be wholesome in character. I wanted them to be compassionate and to see life as a responsibility to give something to the world. I wanted them to have a sophisticated intellect. I wanted them to be avid readers, the kind of person who always has trouble putting a book down. And I raised them to be independent thinkers, to lead reflective and meaningful lives".^[18]

Her strategy for how to achieve this vision was presented in a Wall Street Journal article in 2010 called "A Teacher Quality Manifesto" in which she discusses workplace culture and how it impacts public education. In this, Kenny sets out her approach to creating workplace culture. She describes three components of culture: ownership, teamwork and learning that have been the key to elevating teacher quality at her schools, and she believes the only way to fundamentally change public education is to build a culture in schools that attracts talent, brings out passion and holds teachers accountable for results.^[19]

She has spoken out against an overemphasis on teacher evaluation.^[20] "The government is building a bureaucracy that used to be around compliance, I fear that we're now building a bureaucracy around evaluation. Instead we need … to think deeply about human motivation. How do you bring out in someone the desire and drive to do their best, to hold themselves accountable."^[21]

Kenny is a proponent of the charter model and has said in order to promote education reform we need to "charterize" the country: "What's really critical is the freedom that you get with the charter to do whatever it takes to make it work. The secret is not the processes or systems that come out of the freedom and accountability. So we truly need every school in the country to have those underlying conditions of freedom and accountability. And then you'll see people on fire in the classroom."^[21]

She coined the phrase "authentic accountability" and she believes that authentic accountability can only happen in schools that have employment at will. "How do you provide all that trust and collaboration that all teachers need and deserve? The only way is authentic accountability. It's not a top down bureaucracy, it's not a checklist. It's restoring humanity to the classroom by restoring human judgment to schools."^[21]

Kenny wrote the book Born to Rise^[1] about her life and the founding of the schools. Over a period of eight years, Kenny also wrote The Well-Educated Child,^[2] a book that describes her vision for an optimal K-12 education and explains what children need to thrive and excel.

In order to implement her deeper learning vision from a younger age, in 2020 Kenny started a PreK Montessori school in Harlem, a program informed by the Montessori method—an approach to curriculum that fosters student independence, concentration, persistence, and intellectual curiosity, and teaches responsibility and courtesy.

Since the Regents exams and AP exams were not aligned with her pedagogical vision, Kenny determined that HVA would be an International Baccalaureate school. The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a program which focuses on deeper learning, including performance assessment, in-depth research projects, and an emphasis on extended essays and oral exams. This program aligns with Kenny's vision of each student becoming intellectually sophisticated, wholesome in character, an avid reader, an independent thinker, and a compassionate individual who graduates from college and makes a meaningful contribution to society.

Kenny wrote the book Born to Rise published in 2012, about her life and the founding of the schools in Harlem. The title of the book was inspired by the HVA school song, “We Rise,” written by John Legend. Over a period of eight years, Kenny wrote The Well-Educated Child (2026) a book that describes her vision for an optimal K-12 education and explains what children need to thrive and excel.

The new book is described on its website as follows: In The Well-Educated Child, Dr. Deborah Kenny offers an inspiring vision for education that cultivates intelligent, happy, morally grounded young people. This landmark book will change the way we think about what it means for our children to be well educated.

Drawing on decades of experience with students from preschool through high school, Kenny presents education as soul craft. She reveals how to teach children the skills of self-management and the virtue of self-discipline, and what students must learn to become intellectually curious, knowledgeable, gracious, and motivated. With wit, wisdom, and warmth, Kenny describes how young people can become serious thinkers and avid readers who appreciate beauty, concentrate for long periods of time on challenging work, and lead meaningful lives. She takes us inside classrooms to understand the importance of deeper learning based on three concepts: quality thinking, ethical purpose, and a sense of agency. Her ideas are both practical and deeply philosophical. At a moment when parents and teachers are concerned about digital distraction and declining engagement, The Well-Educated Child is a masterful exposition of what we need to know about what education should be.

David Adams, the CEO of Urban Assembly, said: “Deborah Kenny's book stopped me in my tracks. Her humility and passion for excellence literally jump off the page. It is a beautiful book filled with wisdom and depth. I'm a better person for having read it."^[22] She has authored op-eds for The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and more.

Kenny was selected and profiled by Bill Cosby in Oprah Winfrey's "O" 2010 power list. She was also featured in Esquire's annual Best & Brightest. She was honored as "Educator of the Year" at a presentation by New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein,^[23] and received the national "Educators who Perform" award at the Center for Education Reform gala in Washington, DC^[24] gala in Washington, DC. In addition, Kenny was honored with the Distinguished Alumni award from Columbia University Teachers College.

Kenny is a frequent guest on Morning Joe with Joe Scarborough. She has appeared on NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, the TODAY show, Fox & Friends, and CBS This Morning.

She has been a keynote speaker at national education conferences, and a featured speaker at universities such as the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Yale School of Management, as well as at leadership gatherings including at the Allen and Company Sun Valley Conference.^[25]

According to the Daily News, "An unusually high number of younger students either drop out or are held back. In school year 2003-04, the year the school opened, only 48 of 73 fifth graders made it to sixth grade. In school year 2006-07, 46 of 68 moved on; in 2007-08, just 40 of 76 fifth graders made it to sixth grade."^[26] However, most recent publicly available data shows that Kenny's schools are now a model for exemplary student attrition with only 12% from 2009-10 to 2010-11, compared to a 22% average for traditional public schools in Harlem (District 5).^[27]

The New York City Department of Education reported that in 2011, 100% of students at HVA Middle school passed the eighth grade math test.^[28] While some columnists criticize the fact that the cohort started out with 75 students, and only 44 students took the test, this is consistent with the average student attrition of the school district.^[27]

The issue of teacher attrition has been debated, with some pointing to exemplary teacher satisfaction and others claiming high rates. In a Huffington Post blog, Leonie Haimson wrote that "...Harlem Village Academy has some of the highest teacher turnover rates in the city, according to the NY State report cards. One of her charters had annual attrition rates of 60% and 53%, for the two most recent years for which data is available; the other had teacher attrition rates of 71% and 42%." The reason for the inconsistency, according to the New York Charter Center, is that the data do not capture many key factors including how many teachers "left the classroom because they were promoted within the same charter school or network."^[29]

In 2008, Kenny was among the highest paid education executives in New York State.^[30] Her salary of $442,807 was second only to Geoff Canada, CEO of Harlem Children's Zone.^[31] According to Edward Lewis, HVA Board chair, founder of Essence Communications, Kenny's salary comes entirely from privately raised funds. It is not funded by government revenue.^[31] By 2018, Kenny's salary had risen to $619,463 according to Harlem Village Academies' tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service.^[32]

Kenny's mother was a homemaker and freelance writer; her father was a teacher, editor, and copy editor before becoming a stock broker. Kenny's mother attended school in France and took the Baccalaureate exam in Strasbourg.

Kenny was widowed at age 38. She is the mother of three grown children and lives in New York City.

• Media related to Deborah Kenny at Wikimedia Commons