Kendra Gray is a Program Director at DFI. In her role she primarily leads literacy work and works closely with deans, faculty and systems leaders to expand opportunities for preparation and development prioritizing engaging learning experiences that include practice and research-backed strategies.
Kendra has worked in education is several capacities starting out as a Secondary English Language Arts teacher in Baltimore, Maryland then teaching abroad in Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates and most recently transforming teacher leaders at all stages of experience as a Literacy Content Specialist and Coach.
Kendra currently lives in Lanham, Maryland with her family.
Describe a teacher or student who made a lasting impact in your life.
A teacher who made a lasting impact on my life would be my late grandfather, Melvin Booze Sr. He began teaching elementary aged students in the late 1950s and retired in the early 90s. Seeing him dedicate his time to improving the lives of students and the joy his former students had when reflecting on their times with him was one of my earliest inspirations for being an educator.
What’s a piece of advice you’d give to aspiring or new teachers?
Feedback is a gift! Ask for feedback often and find trusted sources to practice applying and checking in on progress with implementing feedback.
What were you like as a student?
I was an eager and charismatic student. I loved being a part of the classroom and school community and I usually wanted to help teachers do small tasks or run errands. In elementary school one of my teachers trusted me to get her Diet Coke from the Teacher's Lounge every day and another teacher trusted me to walk her daughters from their classrooms back to our class at the end of the day. I was probably a "teacher's pet," a cool version of course.
Contact me to...
- Learn more about supporting educator learning and development
- Literacy and research-backed practices