Dr. Carmen Kennedy-Rogers: Leading for Equity: What would it take?

<p>Dr. Bob Maxfield and Dr. Suzanne Klein welcomed Dr. Carmen Kennedy-Rogers, Senior Program Officer of K-12 Education for the Skillman Foundation.  <a href="https://www.skillman.org"><strong>https://www.skillman.org</strong></a></p><p>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? </p><p>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. </p><p>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