Homeroom: the story behind Nimet Eren’s artifacts at Kensington Health

Nimet Eren is the award-winning principal at Kensington Health Sciences Academy, a Philadelphia community school with career programs focused on the medical field. (Students can major in health-related technology, dental assisting, sports medicine, or global leadership.)

 “The most important lesson I learned at GSE is that school should be the model democracy, the model community,” Eren said, thinking back on her time at Penn GSE, where she earned her master’s in urban education and doctorate in educational leadership. This philosophy is brought to life at the academy, located in the heart of North Philadelphia’s East Kensington neighborhood.

In her office, a hub of activity and inclusivity, Eren houses an array of artifacts that are not just decorative but symbolic of her journey and the ethos of the school. Her office’s closet is filled with books and props from her years as a high school English teacher at nearby Olney High School — including the pool noodles her students used to act out Shakespearean sword fights.

These artifacts and their stories are shared in detail in the Spring 2023 edition of the Penn GSE Magazine.