Watertown Hires New Director Of Equity and Inclusion

WATERTOWN, MA — Watertown officially hired its new Director of Equity and Inclusion this month. Kimberlee Henry was hired as the strategic and creative leader to help the district advance its work in equity. The goal is for Watertown Public schools to become an anti-racist and anti-biased school system.

Henry has worked in public schools as both a teacher and principal in elementary and secondary schools. Her latest role was as principal of the STEM Academy in Lowell. The Watertown School District said in her previous roles, Henry demonstrated a deep commitment to equity and anti-bias, anti-racist education.

She has a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Master’s degree in Education from Simmons University, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University.

Some of the topics that Henry has experience in that the district focused on include:

• Culturally Responsive Teaching (Zaretta Hammond)
• Student and Teacher Identity Work
• Mindshifting (Carol Dweck)

Henry conducted research on marginalized groups in the field of education and her dissertation title is, A World Apart: A Case Study of Black Female Administrators in Predominantly White Schools and Districts. Henry is also a member of DESE’s Principal Readiness Advisory Council composed of school leaders and educator preparation program partners with a collective goal of making DESE's racial equity charge more explicit and elevating the importance of anti-racist leadership.