Kelly Carpenter

Chief Academic Officer

Gananda Central School District 

Kelly Carpenter is in her sixth year as the Chief Academic Officer for the Gananda Central School District, a rural public school located just outside of Rochester, NY.  She has almost 30 years of experience in education, over 21 years of which she has been in a school administrator role.  Kelly is currently spearheading her district's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiative as well as continuing the transition to a personalized learning district, where students are empowered to own their learning. Kelly serves on the Wayne Finger Lakes Regional DEI Steering committee supporting 25 districts in their equity initiatives. She also serves as the Co-President of the Genesee Valley Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and is on the advisory board for the SUNY Brockport Education Administration program. 

20+  years as a School Administrator and raised graduation rate from 78% to 95% in just 4 years.

Prior to her current role, Kelly spent nine years as Gananda’s High School Principal and is proud of her building’s accomplishment of raising the graduation rate from 78% to 95% in just 4 years. Before Gananda, Kelly worked in various school districts throughout the Rochester metro area starting her career teaching social studies and moving into an Assistant Principal role.  Mentoring new administrators has become a recent passion, as turnover rates continue to grow in our field.  Helping all students, staff  and colleagues to be their best self has been a passion for Kelly since she began her career.