Kelly C. Davenport, Ed.D.

CEO & Freire Schools Network Founder

kelly@freireschools.org
B.A. University of Pennsylvania
M.A.T. Indiana University
Ed.D. University of Pennsylvania

Kelly co-founded Freire Charter High School in 1999 with the goal of engaging Philly kids directly in their education, nurturing leadership, citizenship, and creativity. Today, she leads Freire Schools with passion, excellence, and dedication. She provides the vision and the heart for our network, is the public face of our efforts, and coaches and supports Freire school leaders. Kelly is a mother of two who began her career in education as a Spanish teacher, seeking to make her classroom a space in which students could expect democracy, kindness, and to be valued for exactly who they were. Through her work with Freire Schools, Kelly has witnessed the transformative role school leaders can play in improving education. As such, she works to develop strong school leaders through her role as a facilitator with the PA Inspired Leaders program with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She is guided in her work by her passionate belief in education as a basic human right, and critical to the well-being of our society. Kelly’s love of learning is linked to her personal interests, including her research as an Eisenhower Fellow in China and her work with Leadership Philadelphia.