Charter School Leaders of Color
School leaders of color are finding new and better ways to help children learn by opening or working for charter schools. In fact, there’s a higher percentage of Black and Latino principals in charter schools than there are in traditional public schools.
Education Post frequently shares and highlights the work of these inspiring leaders, and here are other notable stories from around the country:
- “Superhero” Dion Steele Creates Limitless Possibilities at Urban Prep-Englewood
By Katelyn Silva, Chicago Defender, May 8, 2017
Dion Steele, principal of Urban Prep Academies’ Englewood campus, says he has “500 sons, and three daughters at home.” Urban Prep is the nation’s first charter network dedicated to serving young African-American men. For the last eight years in a row, Urban Prep has sent 100 percent of its graduates to college. - Paying It Forward: First-Generation College Grad Leads South Chicago Charter
By Maureen Kelleher, Chicago Defender, June 8, 2017
Vincent Gay, the principal of Baker College Prep in South Chicago, tells how his own experience as a first-generation college student inspired him to work in communities like the one where he grew up. - Chicago Principal Creates Model for Educating Black Boys
By Marilyn Rhames, Ebony, April 26, 2017
Christopher Goins runs Butler College Prep has a high success rate among his Black male students. And it’s largely for a simple reason. - Charter School Leader Works to Ensure Black Kids Aren’t Left Behind
By Katelyn Silva, Chicago Defender, April 19, 2017
Tanika Island Childress, principal and now CEO of the University of Chicago Charter School network, talks about her lifelong journey to develop the innate excellence of young Black children. - He Seeks More Black Men to Teach in Philly and Beyond
By Kristen Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 3, 2017
Sharif El-Mekki leads a Philadelphia charter school, and he also launched a fellowship to encourage more Black men into teaching.
On Our Blog
Here’s How Cutting-Edge Charter School Leaders of Color Engage Families for Student Success
For decades, parents and charter school administrators have cultivated best practices to build inclusive, welcoming and student-centered school communities across the country. From single-site schools…
‘I Want to Talk About Better Academic and Life Outcomes for Black and Brown Kids. Period.’
If we have really well-prepared young people who are going to the exact college they want to go to, who will graduate from college within…
This Charter Leader Shares Hard-Earned Lessons About Working With Teachers Unions
I read the new CRPE report, “An Unlikely Bargain: Why Charter School Teachers Unionize and What Happens When They Do” fresh off 10 months of…
Every New Year Black Families Await the Promise of Better Schools
Almost every December 31, at 7:00 p.m., my family joins the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (ATAC) to honor our ancestors who awaited in breathtaking suspense…
13 Years After Hurricane Katrina, My School Is Returning to Local Control
On July 1, the Recovery School District (RSD) will return control of our schools to the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSD). The shift back is…
Charter School Leader Vanesa Scott-Thompson on What It Means to Educate the Whole Girl
Vanesa Scott-Thompson has been in the education game for almost two decades, and her career took an impactful turn when she became the principal of…
We Have to Challenge What Innovation Really Looks Like, If We Want to Break the Cycles That Impact Our Students
When will we learn that traditional systems and customs may not be the answer to creating significant change within education for our Black and Brown…
My Chicago Neighborhood Is Still Scarred 50 Years After MLK’s Assassination, But My Students Give Me Hope
Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, leading to an uprising in Chicago. The North Lawndale and East Garfield Park…
This School Is Changing the Lives of Young Women in Chicago
Before I began substituting at Young Women’s Leadership Charter School (YWLCS) of Chicago, I had only experienced charter schools from the outside looking in. I…
What It’s Like to Be a Black Woman Running a Charter School That’s Closing the Achievement Gap
Ramona Wilder comes from a long line of educators dating back to the 1800s when her great, great grandfather had old school church houses where…
