Whitney Young High School principal Joyce Kenner announces retirement after 27 years

CHICAGO (CBS) — Dr. Joyce Kenner spent nearly three decades walking the halls of a Whitney M. Young Magnet High School s principal, and now she is preparing to step down from the helm.

CBS 2’s Jermont Terry caught up Wednesday with the longtime leader on what’s next, and the hope for the top-ranked school’s future.

Kenner said she wants “to make sure the person that’s going to be after me will be someone who has the same values as I did.”

Kenner spoke Wednesday to a roundtable of her assistant principals and Local School Council members, as well as other visitors – including former Ald. Bob Fioretti. She is preparing to say goodbye after 27 years as principal at Whitney Young, at 211 S. Laflin St. on the city’s Near West Side, and five years as assistant principal before that.

“And I’m trying to be funny – there’s not going to be another Joyce Kenner,” Kenner told the group. “We all get that.”

Kenner has kept Whitney Young top-ranked throughout her 27 years at the helm.

“It is a selective enrollment school, and so these are coveted spots here,” she said.

But one spot will soon be vacant.

Terry: “After nearly 30 years of walking these halls, when did the reality hit that it was time to close to door for good?”

Kenner: “It was really about my family. I have a 3-year-old granddaughter. I have a grandson on the way – and I’m sure that my son and his wife are going to need me.”

When Kenner became principal, Paul Vallas was chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools. He was the first to hold that title after mayoral control of schools took effect in 1995 – before that, the head of CPS held the title of superintendent.

As Vallas, Arne Duncan, Run Huberman, Terry Maany, Jean-Claude Brizard, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Jesse Ruiz, Forrest Claypool, Janice Jackson, and now Pedro Martinez have each succeeded one another as CPS CEO, Kenner has remained in the principal’s chair at Whitney Young.

New high schools were also built in that time. Yet Whitney Young remains sought after by students.

So what does Kenner credit that to?

Kenner: “Honestly, I’d say I’m old-school, and some of the things I felt was important here at Whitney Young, I did not allow to change.”

Terry: “Like what?”

Kenner: “Students with hats in the building. I know that sounds trivial, but I tell students all the time: ‘We’re preparing you guys for college, and you have college interviews. You can’t walk into a college interview with a hat on.”

Kenner believes the teachers’ dedication is key, and wants whoever takes over to understand the commitment to academic excellence.

“We’re not looking for someone just to elevate their career and move on after two or three years,” Kenner said.

And why did Kenner stay so long without moving up or on?

“They never offered me the CEO’s position for Chicago Public Schools, so that was the only position that I ever wanted other than this job,” Kenner said.