This fall, the Townsend Harris administration hired Grace Kent to join the social studies faculty. She will be teaching anthropology and sociology as part of the school’s early college bridge program.
In describing her teaching philosophy, Ms. Kent said she hopes her students will be able to apply what they learn beyond the classroom. “I really hope that [after class] my kids can be like, ‘oh, wait, I understand the world a little bit better,’” she said.
Ms. Kent’s hiring process was different from that of many other teachers. All of Ms. Kent’s courses are “dual-enrollment” senior electives that offer both high school credit and college credit through St. John’s University. Since THHS “paused” its elective program with Queens College this year, the school was looking to offer dual-enrollment college electives through the SJU “College Advantage Program.” As a result, Ms. Kent not only had to be approved by the Department of Education, but by St. John’s as well.
Social Studies teacher Eleni Sardiña, who participated in the hiring process, said, “The kids gravitated towards [her]. She was engaging when it came to her lesson…and challenged students to think.”
After THHS hired her, Ms. Kent had to send in her credentials and course proposals for both an anthropology and a sociology course to SJU for approval. Her credentials and her courses were approved by SJU quickly.
Now that Ms. Sardiña has had time to get to know Ms. Kent as a colleague, she said she’s sure the THHS administration made the right call in hiring her. “I think that part of teaching at Townsend Harris is being very curious, very critical, and finding challenging materials that we’ll all be inspired by,” Ms. Sardiña said. “I think Ms. Kent naturally leans into that a lot, and I think that that’s really what’s going to carry her throughout her time here. She’s a great fit for this community, and I’m excited to work with her.”
Students in Ms. Kent’s class spoke highly of her. “[Ms. Kent] is the best,” said Senior Janna Cassandra. She said she really enjoys Ms. Kent’s integration of group work into “interesting topics that defy societal norms.”
Senior Evelene Chao said her “experience in Ms. Kent’s class has been nothing but positive.” Evelene said she also enjoys how “Ms. Kent never fails to connect her lessons to current events.”
Senior Brandon Pinto said, “I’ve found myself and a friend staying back after class for a few minutes almost every week to talk to Ms. Kent about the lesson, as it’s really interesting and encourages me to think in a way I usually wouldn’t. This is very different from my other classes because it is the first where I feel comfortable and look forward to talking to my teacher after class.” Brandon said that he looks forward to the engaging lessons Ms. Kent teaches and is excited to see where things go from here.
When asked why Ms. Kent wanted to be a teacher, she pointed to her family history. “It’s genetic,” she said. “My mom is a teacher, [and] my grandmother was a teacher.”
This is Ms. Kent’s first year in the Department of Education. Before joining the THHS faculty, she completed her masters at Teachers College at Columbia and student taught at Bard Early College High School and School of the Future High School in Manhattan.
Prior to teaching, Ms. Kent interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an educational intern.
Now two months into the school year, Ms. Kent said she is confident she’s made the right career decision: “[Teaching] is the best job in the world.”
