the Center for Black Educator Development. The Center exists to ensure there will be equity in the recruiting, training, hiring, and retention of quality educators that reflect the cultural backgrounds and share common socio-political interests of the students they serve. The Center is developing a nationally relevant model to measurably increase teacher diversity and support Black educators through four pillars: Professional learning, Pipeline, Policies and Pedagogy. So far, the Center has developed ongoing and direct professional learning and coaching opportunities for Black teachers and other educators serving students of color. The Center also carries forth the freedom or liberation school legacy by hosting a Freedom School that incorporates research-based curricula and exposes high school and college students to the teaching profession to help fuel a pipeline of Black educators. Prior to founding the Center, El-Mekki served as a nationally recognized principal and U.S. Department of Education Principal Ambassador Fellow. El-Mekki’s school, Mastery Charter Shoemaker, was recognized by President Obama and Oprah Winfrey, and was awarded the prestigious EPIC award for three consecutive years as being amongst the top three schools in the country for accelerating students’ achievement levels. The Shoemaker Campus was also recognized as one of the top ten middle school and top ten high schools in the state of Pennsylvania for accelerating the achievement levels of African-American students. Over the years, El-Mekki has served as a part of the U.S. delegation to multiple international conferences on education. He is also the founder of the Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice, an organization dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and developing Black male teachers. El-Mekki blogs on Philly's 7th Ward, is a member of the 8 Black Hands podcast, and serves on several boards and committees focused on educational and racial justice. (5)">
Logo
take action
Logo
take action
School Reform

When School Reform is Not Enough

In 2004, I graduated college and started teaching in New York City as a Teach For America (TFA) corps member. The experience challenged, changed, and inspired me. I was blown away by the magnitude of inequities present in the school where I taught...

Implicit bias

Why We Need LGBTQ+ Curricula

In 2018, GLSEN's national school climate study indicated that 59.5% of LGBTQ students “felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and 44.6% felt unsafe because of their gender...

Read More

Curriculum

Just Like Emancipation, Quality Schools Are Being Delayed and Denied to Black Students

“Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” While many Americans are waiting with baited breath for July 4, today Black people around the...

Read More

Charter Schools

High School Graduate Tatiana Amaya on Raising Student Voice and Claiming a Seat at the Table

Often, you hear about leaders, far earlier than you meet them. Sitting in a café near the school where I lead as principal, Mastery-Shoemaker, I was approached by a beaming waitress. “My...

Read More

Community

Student Noor Bowman on Evening Out the Playing Field and Telling the Whole Story

A couple of years ago, Noor, a young high school student who was interning at a local radio station, reached out to me for an interview. She was researching topics that she wanted to delve into and...

Read More

Charter Schools

When It Comes to Charter Schools, Bernie Sanders Needs to Learn From Black Families

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said he would use his power and platform to temporarily ban Black families from exercising the right to make choices about their children’s education. It would...

Read More

College Readiness

Nina Wallace Dishes on What It's Like to Attend Howard and the Lack of Representation of Women of Color in STEM

You aren’t always able to choose family, but even if I were able, I would have still chosen my cousins. My cousin, Nina Wallace, represents a legacy of resistance, brilliance and activism. Her...

Read More
Prev 3 4 5 6 7 Next

Support Us

Your donation will support the work we do at brightbeam to shine a light on the voices who challenge decision makers to provide the learning opportunities all children need to thrive.

donate
Logo
Brightbeam Logo

Ed Post is the flagship website platform of brightbeam, a 501(c3) network of education activists and influencers demanding a better education and a brighter future for every child.

© 2020–2024 brightbeam. All rights reserved.