Dr. Vito Perrone once remarked, “We should all exert caution every time we hear that something related to schools is new. It usually means that those speaking of the new haven’t chosen to examine the historical record.” It is therefore with humility and reverence for the giant shoulders on which we stand that we work toward our dream to design a graduate school of education. 

We see teachers as intellectuals and as we work to create the ideal learning community in which new teachers are developed, we are humbled by how much we are learning ourselves. It is an incredible feeling to be part of this community that is creating something new together from the ground up. The revolution is happening here—and it is the most important and exciting work we can imagine.

Dr. Deborah Kenny is the founder of Harlem Village Academies and the Deeper Learning Institute, author of The Well-Educated Child, and one of the most influential educators in the country. Deborah has been honored with the Columbia University Teachers College Distinguished Alumni Award, and named on Oprah’s Power List and Esquire’s Best and Brightest, and is regularly featured in national media. She holds a PhD in comparative international education from Columbia University and a BA in intellectual history from the University of Pennsylvania. The mother of three grown children, she lives in New York City.

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