Brendan Keenan
Biography
Dr. Brendan Keenan has been a Lecturer at Northeastern University since 2013. In addition to teaching at Northeastern, Dr. Keenan has focused his full-time professional work on working with students with disabilities and students experiencing various obstacles to learning. In the public schools, he has worked as an elementary school principal, elementary assistant principal, school social worker, and special education teacher. In all of these roles, Dr. Keenan has emphasized promoting equal access and opportunity for all students, and developing supportive and flexible systems to provide appropriate in-school supports for students.
Currently, Dr. Keenan is the Director of Social Emotional Learning for the Wachusett Regional School District in Massachusetts. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of social-emotional learning curricula and programming, as well as leadership for district counselors, psychologists, and other clinical staff.
In the past, Dr. Keenan has worked as a Student Success Coach at Fuller Middle School in the Framingham Public Schools, and he was responsible for developing school systems and procedures aligned with the Massachusetts Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), specifically related to social-emotional learning and the development of related skills with students.
Dr. Keenan also holds faculty appointments at other universities in Massachusetts, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Social Work, School Counseling, Psychology, Sociology, Human Services, and Health Advocacy.
Professional Experience
- Director of Social Emotional Learning (district-wide)
- Elementary School Principal
- School Adjustment Counselor/School Social Worker
- Student Success Coach (public schools)
- University Lecturer
- In-home and Community Respite Care Worker for children with disabilities
- Special Education Teacher
Professional Activities & Accomplishments
-
“The Power of Norms in Shaping School Culture”, Article written for Edutopia (2017)
-
“Challenging Student Behavior: Moving from the Boot to the Root”, Article written for Edutopia (2017)
-
Accepted presentation proposal for the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference in Denver, CO (October, 2014)
-
“Impacts of Tier 2 Attendance Interventions on Elementary Attendance Outcomes: A PK-12 Public School District Evaluation”
-
-
”Positive Behavior Support (PBIS) Data Collection Techniques” (April, 2014) Worcester Public Schools district-wide training
-
Facilitator of “Family Engagement Best Practices Group” (September, 2013 – June, 2014) Worcester Public Schools Child Study Department
-
Facilitator of “Tiered Attendance Interventions Best Practices Group” (September, 2011 – June, 2012) Worcester Public Schools Child Study Department
-
“Teaching with Love and Logic” (April – June, 2011) Teacher Professional Development (Worcester Public Schools)
-
“Bullying Workshop for Parents” (March, 2011) Wawecus Road School (Worcester Public Schools)
-
“Bullying Prevention and Intervention” (November, 2010) Guild of St. Agnes Staff Development Day
-
“Crisis Management and Verbal De-escalation Techniques for Teachers” (September, 2010) Worcester Public Schools
-
“Who’s That Guy on the Phone: A Teacher’s Guide to the Mysterious School Counselor” (November, 2009) Eagle Hill Academy, Hardwick, MA
-
“In the Heat of the Moment: Crisis Intervention Techniques for Little Ones” (November, 2007) Guild of St. Agnes Staff Development Day
-
Trainer for the Center on Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) (January, 2007 – August 2007)
