Dr. Bob Maxfield and Dr. Suzanne Klein welcomed Dr. Carmen Kennedy-Rogers, Senior Program Officer of K-12 Education for the Skillman Foundation. https://www.skillman.org
Dr. Kennedy-Rogers reflected on her leadership journey, the challenges facing school leaders during the pandemic, and vision for the post-pandemic reset. Dr. Kennedy-Rogers’ leadership experiences and expertise, her identity as a fierce champion of Detroit children embracing the values of the Skillman Foundation, and her mission to support systems change converge in asking educational leaders, What would it take to transform a school community to a place where wellness and academic achievement are always used in the same sentence? When re-imagining a school system that provides equitable opportunities for all students, what would it take?
Dr. Carmen Kennedy-Rogers’s expertise reflects a rich and impactful leadership journey: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Avondale Schools, principal at South Lake High School, high school assistant principal and athletic director at Grosse Pointe North High School, physical education teacher and girls’ basketball coach in the Troy School District. She began her career in the Detroit Public Schools at Oakman Elementary utilizing her minor in adaptive physical education. Dr. Kennedy-Rogers has also served as an adjunct assistant professor at Madonna University and adjunct faculty at Wayne State University.
Dr. Kennedy-Rogers proudly spoke of the long-standing work of the Skillman Foundation as a Fierce Champion of Detroit Children and saw this role as an opportunity to “assign herself to working for the children and the families and educators in Detroit right now”. As we look at a "reset", her hope is that educators will “not be content with returning back to normal. Normal was not equitable and excellent; it was just familiar. Let’s strive towards transforming mindsets, instructional practices, leadership practices, expectations and systems,” Taking her inspiration from Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem, The Hills We Climb, Dr. Rogers-Kennedy urged leaders to recognize this as an opportunity to dismantle the inequities that permeate our educational systems.
Dr. Kennedy-Rogers credited Dr. Andrea Anderson, Director of Evaluation, Learning and Impact, at Skillman with introducing her to the critical question, What would it take? What would it take to return back face-to-face with minimum stress, in optimum collaborative planning, implementation, monitoring and adjusting along the way to be responsive to so many competing demands? What would it take to transform a school community to a place where wellness and academic achievement are always used in the same sentence? What would it take to ensure wellness is at the center of learning, teaching, serving, and leading?
To keep moving forward, Dr. Kennedy-Rogers encouraged leaders to practice radical self-care and love, curate and cultivate space for wellness for all staff. Focus on the wellness of self, staff, students and families, recognize the signs of stress and trauma and be willing to press pause. “Leaders should think about ‘walking with’ in their decision making to explain the rationale, and make your thinking visible to those who you lead and who you have the opportunity to serve.”
Another powerful point Dr. Kennedy-Rogers spoke to was respecting student voice in terms of how they are experiencing this pandemic as it is important to acknowledge, adjust, change, transform and dismantle it for them. The pandemic has created the opportunity to amplify student voice as well as how they are experiencing their learning and engagement.
Dr. Kennedy-Rogers discussed The Water of Systems Change model used by Foundation Strategy Group https://www.fsg.org as a framework. Using the six conditions: policies, practices, resource flows, relationships and connections, power dynamics, and mental models is “when systemic change can come about.” She shared a favorite quote from The Water of Systems Change, "Real and equitable progress requires exceptional attention to the detailed and often mundane work of noticing what is invisible to many."
Dr. Kennedy-Rogers explained Skillman's Opportunity Agenda for the next three years which has four primary cross cutting themes: mitigate learning loss and disconnection due to the impact of Covid on kids and systems; leverage disruption to re-imagine how schools and supports are provided; amplify and strengthen Collective Impact efforts, specifically to build community, student, and parent power to shape systems; and build awareness, connection, advocacy for the Opportunity Agenda. Dr. Kennedy-Rogers leads the K-12 strategy of mitigating learning loss and accelerating advocacy efforts and funding centered on literacy loss, specifically third grade reading.
“We are working with schools across Detroit, not just one particular system, on culturally responsive education. We are using this time, the racial reckoning that is happening, to really think about what is culturally responsive education, what does it look like, and wall-to-wall transformation.” Dr. Kennedy-Rogers announced Skillman is creating and launching a principal wellness professional learning community, working with educational experts and organizations that have expertise in principal leadership, culturally responsive leadership, and wellness.
In closing, Dr. Kennedy-Rogers summarized the work of the Skillman Foundation: kids first, equity focused, trusted partner, greater than grants, world wise, Detroit smart. “We have granted nearly $670 million and have assets of approximately $500 million, allowing us to serve children, kids first. We remain focused on equity. We learn from so many different places and people across the world, so we can show up big for Detroit, world wise, Detroit smart. As grant makers and change makers we hold an ambition for children that outweighs what our dollars alone can accomplish, so we're greater than grants. We utilize our change making skills. We are change agents, we assign ourselves. We strive to be a trusted partner in service to the children of Detroit. So, we're always looking to be in good company in developing relationships and keeping the interest of Detroit children first.”