Education Revolution: Hannah Kehn Of New York City Charter School of the Arts On Innovative Approaches That Are Transforming Education
An interview with Eden Gold
Supporting teachers is an area I have most enjoyed but also felt the most concern. We face a teacher shortage nationally, and I believe we need a new approach to engaging and retaining teachers. Teacher prep programs need a major overhaul to ensure that new teachers are equipped with the mindset, skills, and experiences to prepare students to be civically engaged, emotionally intelligent independent learners. One day, I’d like to start a teacher prep program that offers a new approach to centering learning on students and their strengths and passions.
The fact that as a country we spend more money on the military, police, and war than on education is a significant problem. If we truly believe that our youth are the future, a lack of equitable funding for schools across the country continues to create barriers to their growth as well-rounded citizens.
The landscape of education is undergoing a profound transformation, propelled by technological advancements, pedagogical innovations, and a deepened understanding of learning diversities. Traditional classrooms are evolving, and new modes of teaching and learning are emerging to better prepare students for the complexities of the modern world. This series will take a look at the groundbreaking work being done across the globe to redefine education. As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview Hannah Kehn.
The newly appointed executive director of the New York City Charter School of the Arts (CSA), Hannah Kehn brings fourteen years of experience in school leadership. Her diverse background includes serving as the first implementation coordinator for the Turnaround Arts Initiative, ELA teacher, assistant principal, founding principal of a high school concerned with “artivism”. She holds a master’s degree in teaching at Pace University, and a master’s degree in school leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. As a Catapult Fellow in Denver, she absorbed valuable insights from schools and leaders nationwide who are effectively grooming students to be innovators.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
I think there are a lot of experiences and individuals that have contributed to my “path”. I’ll share a few that stand out to me. The arts throughout my life as a young person gave me an outlet for expression, purpose, and healing. I was also homeschooled for five years in elementary school which, in retrospect, has informed many of my beliefs about student-directed and inquiry-based learning. When I was an undergrad at Northeastern University, we had to work for a year and I spent half of that time teaching at a Junior Secondary School in Ghana. That experience solidified my desire to become a teacher. The six years I taught ELA at a performing arts middle school in Brooklyn was both a humbling and transformational time in my life. I learned a lot about teaching and community there. My deep admiration for my principal and the impact he had on my life and our school inspired me to pursue school leadership.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think surviving COVID was interesting in the sense that as a principal during that time, it was remarkable for me to witness everyone evolve so fast. We redesigned and reimagined education in a few short weeks. For me, this is a testament to the resilience and capacity of human beings to Create, Learn and Thrive. If we did it then, we can do it again. Does it need to require a pandemic? What would it look like for this to be initiated rather than something that occurs out of crisis?
Can you briefly share with our readers why you are an authority in the education field?
I appreciate the opportunity to share my experiences and learning with Authority Magazine. I have been fortunate to learn from powerful individuals in the field of education during my time at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and as a Catapult Fellow in Denver. In both those programs, I was supported to work on a unique school design that would challenge the status quo, as well as to visit innovative schools across the country. The course, “Building Democratic Schools” taught by Dr. Linda Nathan at HGSE was particularly influential. I interned at the highest performing charter school in Massachusetts, supported schools across the country to use the arts as a catalyst for change, and consulted with schools in the areas of arts integration, competency-based learning, and authentic assessment. In 2017, I started a high school with a mission to “create something unique and necessary” in a neighborhood in Queens, NY that has been historically underserved and underappreciated. Now, I am thrilled to explore how we can deepen arts integration practices and social activism at CSA, a small, diverse, middle school founded in 2016.
Can you identify some areas of the US education system that are going really great?
That’s a tough question because to be “really great”, I believe ultimately, we need to see a complete redesign of our practices and the mental models supporting why we are doing it. Students need to be allowed to fully explore what they are passionate about (in and out of traditional school buildings) and graduate based on how they demonstrate mastery in those areas. In most states and schools, we are far away from a vision like that and instead are entrenched in archaic and oppressive systems of learning, discipline, and physical environment. This is why I’m so excited for the opportunity to deepen the work already in motion at the NYC Charter School for the Arts. Let’s let a vision rooted in the arts lead the way just as artists have throughout history.
Can you identify the key areas of the US education system that should be prioritized for improvement? Can you explain why those are so critical?
Assessment systems are extremely problematic when they are based primarily on the memorization of facts and test-taking skills. Assessments like the Regents Exams in NYS prevent many students from enjoying school and graduating because teachers feel pressure to tailor their instruction to these exams and the information and skills assessed are often not essential for post-secondary success. We see students in independent schools exempt from high stakes testing and this presents a significant equity and empowerment issue across our country.
Supporting teachers is an area I have most enjoyed but also felt the most concern. We face a teacher shortage nationally, and I believe we need a new approach to engaging and retaining teachers. Teacher prep programs need a major overhaul to ensure that new teachers are equipped with the mindset, skills, and experiences to prepare students to be civically engaged, emotionally intelligent independent learners. One day, I’d like to start a teacher prep program that offers a new approach to centering learning on students and their strengths and passions.
The fact that as a country we spend more money on the military, police, and war than on education is a significant problem. If we truly believe that our youth are the future, a lack of equitable funding for schools across the country continues to create barriers to their growth as well-rounded citizens.
Please tell us all about the innovative educational approaches that you are using. What is the specific problem that you aim to solve, and how have you addressed it?
Students or “artist-scholars” begin preparing for what is called Senior Capstone Projects in 9th grade at the school I founded in 2017 with a small community of individuals. These projects were inspired by the work of Boston Arts Academy. These artist-scholars explore issues impacting humanity by considering the role of the artist in society and how the arts can be used as a tool to provoke change. What is innovative about this approach is that through an intentional scope and sequence that includes a grant writing course, presentations to judges, committee work, and community partnership, students see their ideas manifest real change through funding, action, and collaboration. This is the kind of authentic work that can help solidify one’s purpose and ultimately drive systemic change long term.
An advisory curriculum I wrote included another innovative approach centered on theater games. The ability to improvise is invaluable as we all know we have to shift and adjust daily to the changes that come our way in life. I believe improvisation should be a required course in schools. It has been powerful to witness the way this promotes the development of social emotional learning competencies like awareness of self and others. There are many principles of improv that are applicable or helpful in “real life” — such as “Yes, and…” an improv rule that promotes effective communication and the sharing of ideas.
At the NYC Charter School of the Arts (CSA), a vision of arts integration across all content areas promotes the retention of content, broadens the access points for diverse learning styles, and allows students to demonstrate their understanding in ways that suit various intelligences. Arts integration is innovative because it is rarely implemented in schools in rigorous and comprehensive ways. This priority, along with a commitment to social activism and students thriving social-emotionally, positions CSA to become a testament to what is possible in public education. Nearly 75% of graduates enter high school with a science credit; 90% of 8th grade graduates that audition for arts high schools are accepted; and school-wide ELA scores exceed the NYC average by 15%. While this data does not define CSA or its students by any means, it is a reminder that those kinds of outcomes and arts integrated projects need not exist apart from each other. I am thrilled to step into a position where I can strengthen and make more visible the amazing work already in place at CSA.
In what ways do you think your approach might shape the future of education? What evidence supports this?
First, many adults never had authentic opportunities to be civically engaged throughout their K-12 education. I write about this and the challenges I encountered trying to make “artivism” a focus at the school that I founded for my contribution to the book Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments; A Global Perspective.
Arts enhancement and integration sets the stage for risk-taking and authentic assessment which we know are two bedrocks for deeper learning. When students create something unique with their knowledge…this is the highest level of learning and feels like pure magic. It is that “aha” moment, or the experience you never forget.
In 2022, I was honored to start working on a project with authors and editors representing 15 countries on a book called Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments: A Global Perspective. Here is an excerpt from my chapter called “Let the Light In”:
M. K. Asante is an author, filmmaker, recording artist, and professor who described the purpose of our Senior Capstone Projects well when he said: “the artivist (artist +activist) uses her artistic talents to fight and struggle against injustice and oppression — by any medium necessary. The artivist merges commitment to freedom and justice with the pen, the lens, the brush, the voice, the body, and the imagination. The artivist knows that to make an observation is to have an obligation.”
When reflecting with one of my teachers, Mr. Williams, on the Capstone process, he spoke about the challenge of supporting students grappling with the mindset that “they don’t have the power to change things as students.” Imagine the collective power possible if a large mass of young adults graduated from high school firmly believing in the power of their ideas and how to make them a reality with other people. (P. 187)
How do you measure the impact of your innovative educational practices on students’ learning and well-being?
The most meaningful measurements for me happen when I’ve witnessed students take agency and realize they can do more than they thought independently and with others. This happened every time I watched my students present their grant proposals to judges. For me, it is the joy that comes from work that we are proud of and that presents navigating significant challenges. For example, when I completed a ropes course with an adult team. Other meaningful measurements include emails from my students; text messages from the parents of my students; and feeling like I can break bread with people I work with. These are some of the ways I measure the impact of this critical work.
What challenges have you faced in implementing your educational innovations, and how have you overcome them?
I have encountered many challenges, and each has taught me a valuable lesson I needed to learn for some future time in my life. I will delve into two that I think are most relevant:
I think whenever you are endeavoring to challenge the status quo it is important to expect opposition and doubt. Like a scholar, you have to educate yourself so you can speak and act from an informed place, and like an artist, you must maneuver your way creatively and through practice.
In “Let the Light In”, I also write about overcoming challenges. I had an epiphany at some point about the fact that most adults do not have educational experiences focused on developing civics skills and knowledge. No wonder so many systems remain unchanged; few people are encouraged to learn how to create change with others. Adults need a lot of support when facilitating “artivism” with students because it is also often a learning experience for them as well. There is a lot of power in this kind of work, but there are also moments of disappointment. You have to be confident in the work you are doing every day, and have the right people to call on a bad day. I am extremely grateful for mentors throughout my career who have inspired me and served as thought partners.
What are your “5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started”?
1 . Teach a class
2 . Audit and clean up Google drive regularly
3 . Listen to your gut
4 . Don’t try and hold an event by a seawall
5 . Drink more water
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect to your future.” Steve Jobs.
I’ve connected to this quote a few times throughout this interview. For me it is a reminder that things don’t always make sense, but if you trust the process and do your best every day (knowing that that may look different from day to day), then it’ll all make sense at some point in reflection.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
I would be honored to meet Ayanna Soyini Pressley who has served as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts’s 7th congressional district since 2019. I would love to meet her because her strength and integrity as a leader has been very grounding and motivating throughout my career as a school leader.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Instagram: @hannah_kehn @cityschoolofthearts.org
Web: cityschoolofthearts.org
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-kehn-75919641
Chapter in Designing Democratic Schools and Learning Environments: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-46297-9_17
Turnaround Arts Initiative Evaluation Report: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED572046.pdf
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
Education Revolution: Hannah Kehn Of New York City Charter School of the Arts On Innovative… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.