Aquabah Gonney

In a pursuit to change the status quo and strive for transformational change through innovation, Aquabah Gonney-Buckner has dedicated her 18-year career to teaching and leading in urban schools as a teacher, instructional coach, turn-around school Assistant Principal and Principal. As the principal of Lewis School of Excellence, Gonney-Buckner led the school from Level 2 to Level 1 (good standing) by emphasizing a personalized approach to education, culturally responsive practices and social emotional learning, setting a new standard of excellence for students and a new vision of what school could be. In addition, Lewis School of Excellence achieved a 4.2% increase in student attendance and an 82% decrease in student discipline infractions. During the pandemic, Mrs. Gonney was featured in the Chicago Public Education Fund’s Principal Response to the Pandemic Report for her school’s bi-weekly culturally responsive teaching professional development for teachers and staff to discuss diversity, inclusion and equity in education. As a premier school in her network, she was featured in the book How Schools Work written by Arne Duncan, Former U.S. Secretary of Education under Barack Obama.
Aquabah Gonney-Buckner holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a Minor in General Art from Delaware State University and a Dual Masters in Childhood and Special Education from Wagner College. For the last four years, Mrs. Gonney-Buckner has used her passion for education to support other leaders within the field of education. She believes strongly in leaders working in tandem with other leaders to make strategic decisions. As a result, she started her company, Lead With Leaders LLC in 2023 to provide support to principals and district leaders from former and current leaders, to help navigate the challenges of leadership through Coaching, Consulting, and Professional Development.