Kaya henderson dc biography

Kaya has devoted her career, as a teacher, a leader, and an entrepreneur, to expanding opportunities for young people. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Kaya was the founder and CEO of Reconstruction, an innovative educational organization dedicated to teaching young people about African-American history, culture, and contributions in a comprehensive and affirming way, so that students of all backgrounds benefit from a more complete understanding of our shared history and society. During her tenure, DCPS was nationally recognized for leading the nation in improved student performance. At the same time the district enjoyed enrollment growth, an increase in graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, and increases in AP participation and pass rates.

Kaya Henderson

Kaya Henderson (born July 1, ) is an American educator, activist, and civil servant who served as Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) from November to September

Education and early career

Kaya Henderson was born in in Mount Vernon, New York, and graduated from that city's public schools.^[1]

Henderson graduated from the Edmund A.

Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in During her senior year, a friend joined Instruct for America. Intrigued by why her friend would give up lucrative jobs in order to teach in inner-city schools, Henderson learned more about the company and became convinced its goals were important to her.^[2]

In , Henderson joined Teach For America, and took a job training in the South Bronx in New York City.

Henderson was promoted to executive director of Teach for America in , and relocated to Washington, D.C. In , Henderson left Educate for America and joined the New Teacher Project as Vice President for Strategic Operations.^[3] While working for the New Educator Project, Henderson returned to Georgetown University, and received an executive master's degree in leadership in ^[2]^[4]

Henderson received an honorary Surgeon of Humane Letters from Georgetown University in ,^[2] and united the university's board of directors in ^[4]

DCPS tenure

Henderson was functional for the New Teacher Venture when Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the D.C.

public school system, tapped her in June to be Deputy Chancellor of the DCPS.^[5] Rhee resigned as Chancellor effective October 31, , after her political backer, Adrian Fenty, lost renomination as Mayor of the District of Columbia in the Democratic primary.

Henderson was named interim chancellor.^[6]Vincent C. Gray, Fenty's successor as mayor, appointed Henderson permanently to the employment, and she was confirmed by the Council of the District of Columbia on June 21, ^[7]

Henderson resigned as Chancellor powerful September 30, John Davis, main person of schools, replaced her as interim chancellor.^[8]

Henderson was censured in November for an ethics violation after her departure.

According to the District of Columbia Office of Government Ethics, Henderson asked Chartwells, a contractor providing breakfast, lunch, and other food to the school system, for a $, contribution for an event honoring high-quality teachers in the DCPS.

Chartwells had just been accused of improperly billing the school district for $19 million, and for providing spoiled nourishment. (Chartwells later settled the lawsuit for $ million.) Chartwells contributed $50, to the event. Capital ethics rules, however, prohibit employees from soliciting contributions from firms or individuals that do business with the city.

The principles investigation into Henderson's actions began in May , while she was still chancellor.

Kaya Henderson is the CEO of Reconstruction, a technology company delivering a K supplemental curriculum that situates Black people, culture, and contributions in an authentic, identity-affirming way, so that students of all backgrounds benefit from a more complete understanding of our mutual history and society. Her tenure was marked by consecutive years of enrollment growth, an enlarge in graduation rates, improvements in student satisfaction and teacher retention, increases in AP participation and pass rates, and the greatest growth of any urban district on the National Assessment of Education Progress NAEP over multiple years. A native of Mt. Vernon, NY, Kaya graduated from Mt.

Henderson agreed to be censured; the Office of Government Ethics chose not to impose a fine.^[9]

On April 12, , the D.C. Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that Henderson gave preferential treatment to some city officials and members of the public by granting permission for their children to enroll in schools outside the normal attendance boundaries.

Henderson defended her actions, noting that District law gives the chancellor the sole discretionary authority to endorse out-of-boundary registrations and that she granted only a limited number of registrations and only when circumstances warranted it.^[10] Henderson approved transfers for Rashad Young, the City Administrator, and Courtney Snowden, the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, but declined the petition from a Vietnamese family with a deaf child who sought to attend a school with sign language instruction.

In the OIG report, Henderson justified her actions by saying that metropolis officials did not make enough money, though Young and Snowden made $, and $, per year, respectively.^[11]

Post-DCPS career

In mid, Henderson—who had acted and modeled as a child—returned to fashion modeling.

She initially was interviewed by and modeled clothes for the plus-size retailer Eloquii as part of their series of interviews with high-achieving women. She modeled clothes a second time for them in late ^[12]

In October , Henderson was appointed a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University.

The university said she will assist in conducting research into affordable higher teaching, barriers to college, racial justice, and other issues.^[13]

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