Early life and education
Gentle-Genitty was born to Belizean parents and grew up in Belize. [1] She is the oldest of five children. [2] [3] Her parents ran a food cart and canteen. [3] As a grade school student,she prioritized leadership opportunities such as student government and the Belizean government's youth service department. [2] For high school,she applied and was accepted to an all girls private school. [3] In 1996,she earned her associate degree in General Studies from St John's College Junior College,while holding a work-study position to pay tuition. [1] She was awarded the Bachelor of Science in Social Work in 1998,followed by the Master of Science in Social Work in 1999 from Spalding University in Louisville,Kentucky. [1] In 2004,she relocated to Indianapolis and began her doctoral studies. [1] In 2008,she received her Ph.D. in Social Work with a minor in Criminal Justice from Indiana University. [1]
Career
After serving as the executive director of YMCA Belize,teaching at the University of Belize,and working with nonprofits,Gentle-Genitty moved to Indianapolis to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Work. [4] [5] After completing her degree,she was hired by Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) as a faculty member and led the School of Social Work's undergraduate degree programs. [5]
During her time at IUPUI she held many leadership positions at the campus and for the Indiana University system. In her work,she developed online education programs and improved transfer policies. [5] In July 2017,she was appointed as assistant vice president for university academic policy in the Office of the Executive Vice President for University Academic Affairs. She also served the director of the University Transfer Office. [6] In this role,Gentle-Genitty was responsible for over 25 initiatives,including the assessment of feeder schools,credit decision making,and providing policy guidance documents for standard operating processes. [7]
In June 2022,she stepped down from her role as the director of the University Transfer Office,but continued to serve as the Assistant Vice President for University Academic Policy and Liaison to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. [7] The following year,she was accepted into the 2023 cohort of American Council on Education Fellows program. [8]
She currently serves as the Chief Education Officer,Lead Consultant,and Founder at Pivot Attendance Solutions. [9] [10]
In April 2024,Butler University announced Gentle-Genitty as the inaugural dean of their new two year Founder's College. She joined the college on June 3,2024. In her first year,she was tasked to develop the school's infrastructure while hiring faculty and staff. [3] [5] [11]
Research and public scholarship
Gentle-Genitty's research explores the school attendance and truancy. In a 2008 study,she found that middle school students in Indiana missed school because the parents expected the schools to address absenteeism while the schools expected the parents to address the issue. [12] Her approach to research often includes engagement with community partners and educators to identify and test solutions to issues. [13] For example,in 2014 she worked with a school social worker to develop an international award-winning program to help educators foster positive student behaviors. [14] Similarly,her work with the Warren Township schools to used community-based research methods to improve student success. For this research,Gentle-Genitty received The Charles R. Bantz Chancellor's Community Scholar Award in 2017. [15]
Gentle-Genitty's research takes a holistic approach to understanding and addressing student attendance and behavior issues. After the Indianapolis prosecutor proposed adult-court for the parents of truant students,she observed that a singular focus on parents would be unlikely to improve attendance. [16] Similarly,when the Indiana state legislature explored approaches to further enforce school attendance,Gentle-Genitty encouraged lawmakers to consider the range of reasons that a student might be absent from school,including "school withdrawal" (such as for appointments) and "school refusal" (for bullying and mental health issues). [17] Following revisions to the proposed legislation,Gentle-Genitty reiterated support for approaches that support accountability while not emphasizing punitive measures and criminalization. [18] [19]
Her research of truancy led her development of the Perception of School Social Bonding instrument (PSSB). [20] It is the first assessment of its kind that measures any gaps in school social bonding that may impact truancy. [20] [21] In addition to her research,she served as the president and editor for International Association for Truancy and Dropout Prevention (IATDP). [22]
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