In August of 2012, Amy Kenton received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The focus of her dissertation was on youth leadership development. She zeroed-in on the role of community-based organizations in helping schools develop effective youth leadership programming. Dr. Kenton also analyzed the role of technology in young people's leadership cultivation.
Dr. Kenton's own work as a social studies teacher provided inspiration for her doctoral study. As a secondary social studies teacher, she provided students paths to develop leadership skills through service learning projects. Dr. Kenton also built into her lessons, opportunities for students to study and to meet noted youth leaders. As a result of her efforts, Dr. Kenton won a Congressional award, the James Madison Fellowship, which awards a Masters to one social studies teacher per state for excellence. Dr. Kenton applied the fellowship at Columbia University, where she received a Masters in American Studies in 2000. A central focus of her work at Columbia was on African American history. Dr. Kenton's thesis was on the activism of youth leaders during the Civil Rights Movement, who took part in the Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964. Dr. Kenton integrated biographies of youth activists from this period in her teaching of United States history and in her own youth leadership development methodology.
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Chief executive officer for Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence (MI) Charter School, Amy Kenton maintains initiatives and duties which parallel those of a superintendent of schools. In addition to performing such high-level tasks as planning and implementing a comprehensive Charlotte Danielson Framework, Amy Kenton functions as principal of the school with responsibilities including state and federal data reporting oversight.
Operating in accordance with the rules of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School admits children who reside in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Originally formed in 1975, the Howard Gardner School began as the Children’s Learning Workshop. The nonprofit charter school eventually reorganized in 2005 as an institution dedicated to a curriculum and philosophy that reflects Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. With teamwork and partnership at the core of this philosophy, Howard Gardner MI Charter School educates children in a way that acknowledges each child’s innate and distinctive abilities. School staff members join with students and parents to provide an educational experience that assesses learning methods based on diverse student evaluations. The curriculum reflects an apprentice model in which children learn alongside masters, who include faculty, parents, and volunteers. Experienced as a Scranton, Pennsylvania, educational administrator, Amy Kenton serves as CEO of the Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence (MI) Charter School. Amy Kenton leads a school with a diverse academic curriculum that includes Spanish, Mandarin, music, and science. The science offerings emphasize creative inquiry and include experiments and observations in outdoor and classroom environments.
At the basis of the science curriculum is the University of California, Berkeley-developed "Full Option Science System," which is calibrated to match national science standards and spans physical, earth, and life sciences. Group work focuses on accurately recording data based on experiments and creating graphs. Local outdoor locations for scientific inquiry include Robinson Park and Mountain Lake, and classes also take field trips further afield. Indoor classes take place in the Science Cottage, which is adjacent to a future flower and vegetable garden site. With ecology and environment an important part of the science curriculum, students learn about biological phenomenon such as bean sprouting and phototropism. Dedicated to training educators who will serve as ethical and humane social critics in their educational communities, the Doctoral Program in Educational Policy and Leadership at Hofstra University produces outstanding graduates. Taking its goal as social transformation, the program has an approach to education more visionary than that of simply training competent teachers. Its graduates are trained to develop critical and reflective habits in order to evaluate both organizational and individual effectiveness in the educational realm. As experts in educational leadership, graduates take a proactive approach to defining new transformative possibilities.
Amy Kenton, a Hofstra graduate, has expanded the leadership education she received to students as well. Completing a dissertation in 2012 on youth leadership development, she has identified a transformative possibility that extends Hofstra’s emphasis on leadership to youth. Kenton’s experience prior to her graduation from Hofstra included 15 years of teaching and seven years of administrative responsibilities. The international charity Free the Children began with the efforts of one boy. While reading the “Toronto Star” newspaper one morning in 1995, Craig Kielburger was struck by an article about the plight of a 12-year-old Pakistani factory worker. Wanting to do something, Kielburger rallied his seventh-grade classmates to the cause of abolishing child labor and exploitation through Free the Children. Wanting to hear child laborers’ stories firsthand, he raided his savings and performed odd jobs to earn enough for a plane ticket. A 25-year-old family friend from Bangladesh chaperoned Kielburger as he met with children from labor camps and slums throughout Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Nepal, and Pakistan. They also arranged meetings with human rights groups of those countries. During the trip, Kielburger was unable to secure a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who was in Southeast Asia for a trade delegation. However, the Canadian reporters following Chrétien took an interest in Kielburger’s efforts. When he returned home, Free the Children had gained national attention.
Today, Free the Children still relies on youth. In classrooms and churches across North America, young people raise funds for its Adopt a Village developmental program, which builds schools and removes barriers to education in 45 countries. About Amy Kenton: As an Assistant Principal in the Montauk Public School District of New York, Amy Kenton started a chapter of Free the Children. Typically requiring three years of full time study, a doctorate in education, whether a Ph.D. or an Ed.D., is a significant commitment of time and tuition expense often costing tens of thousands of dollars. Courses are extensive and difficult, covering areas such as research methods, theory, and dissertation work. Obtaining the degree allows professionals to specialize in certain areas and potentially advance in the field, despite the challenges involved.
Teachers with a doctorate typically earn higher salaries than those with only undergraduate or other graduate degrees. In Florida, for example, those with a doctorate make approximately $6,000 more per year. Educators with the degree also open themselves up to new and better jobs, including positions as high level administrators and even college professors. Amy Kenton recently earned her doctorate in education from Hofstra University and has approximately 20 years of experience in the field. Kenton also holds several additional graduate degrees in social studies, liberal studies, and school administration. Accomplished New York teacher and administrator Amy Kenton possesses expertise
in grant writing and reviewing, curriculum coordination, K-12 technologies, student discipline, professional development, and school guidance. As a teacher at Mineola Union Free School District (UFSD) for 15 years, she taught advanced placement and Regents-level U.S. history, as well as global history, government, geography, and social studies. Amy Kenton also instructed students in journalism, English, and human rights. In addition, she taught social studies at St. Demetrios Greek American School in Astoria; acted as an SAT coordinator, instructor, recruiter, and curriculum developer for Kaplan, Inc.; and served as a freelance writer for The Learning Network of The New York Times. |
AuthorApart from her EdD, Amy Kenton holds Master's degrees in Social Studies Education and School Administration and Supervision from C.W. Post College and an additional Master's degree in Liberal Studies from Columbia University. Archives
July 2014
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