Books

It’s one thing to refer to schools as high performing; it’s another to examine what that means. In The Well Educated Child, Dr. Deborah Kenny, founder of the Harlem Village Academy, shares her journey to answer the question: What makes a well-educated child?

Since its inception, the Harlem Village Academy has excelled—excellent test scores, excellent behavior. By 2007, it ranked #1 in math in New York State and has since been considered among the highest performing groups of schools in the country. But Dr. Kenny wanted more for her students.

She envisioned a world-class education all children deserved:

• Curriculum centered on great books, compelling ideas, and intriguing questions
• Cognitively demanding instruction that teaches students to examine sources closely and carefully
• Performance assessments that require students to demonstrate their ability to apply knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts
• A vision of education that instills a sense of purpose, that teaches students the skills of self-management and the virtue of self-discipline.

Through extensive research, collaboration, and the refinement of practices in the classroom, as well as reflection on setbacks has led to the most profound insights. Dr. Kenny has unearthed a clarity and depth of understanding about what comprises a world-class education. It came down to three things: quality thinking, agency, and ethical purpose.