Today, we are honored to share the extraordinary story of Arthur Samuels, Co-founder and Executive Director of Math, Engineering, Science Academy (MESA) Charter High School in Brooklyn. If you have been in the charter school movement long enough, you may know Arthur Samuels as a founding member of the rap group, Charta Squad. In 2009,
Today, we are honored to profile the extraordinary Dr. Benjamin Merrill, Executive Director and Principal of Meridian Medial Arts Charter High School in Meridian, Idaho. Dr. Benjamin Merrill spent most of his early professional career driven by the desire to prove that his upbringing did not define him. Today, he focuses on building the school
Today, we are honored to introduce you to the extraordinary Danilo Juarez, Principal of Hayward Collegiate in California. There is a version of Danilo Juarez’s life that could have ended in a police uniform. Another that ends with him trying cases in a courtroom. Instead, each day starts with a coffee and a 7:30 a.m. huddle with
Today, we are honored to introduce you to the extraordinary Christina Yi-Perry, Founder of Kwenda Collegiate Girls in Brooklyn, NY. On August 31, the inaugural kindergarten class of girls skipped through the doors of Kwenda Collegiate Girls. When first graders joined them on September 2, the school welcomed 120 students in all, beginning the creation
Today, we are honored to profile the extraordinary Bill Kurtz, Senior Advisor and Former CEO of DSST Public Schools in Denver, Colorado. Two years after stepping down as CEO of the network he helped build from the ground floor, Bill Kurtz keeps coming back to the same sentence when he talks about the Denver School of
Today, we are excited to share the story of the extraordinary artist and leader Dr. Allison Roberts, CEO and Superintendent of Arkansas Arts Academy A lifelong multimedia artist, Dr. Allison Roberts rarely limits herself to a single medium. She says painting, clay, fiber arts, mixed media, and textiles all find their way into her pieces.
Today, we are honored to profile Patricia Brantley, CEO of Friendship Public Charter School in Washington, DC. Pat Brantley grew up in a Newark, New Jersey household where public service wasn’t just something you did, but who you were. It was the family business. Her mother started working as a teacher before becoming a lawyer and, eventually, a judge. Her stepfather, Ramon Rivera, was the inaugural executive director of La Casa de Don
We are thrilled to introduce you to the extraordinary Executive Director of BELIEVE Middle College Tanesia Simmons. On the wall of Tanesia Simmons’ office hangs an unusual collection of credentials. Alongside her bachelor’s degree from DePaul University and her master’s degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Houston, she holds a cosmetology license. For Tanesia,
Today, we are honored to profile the extraordinary Deborah Brown, Middle School Director, The Exploris School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Students at The Exploris School gather each morning for a meeting built around one simple idea. “We are all crew, not passengers,” said Deborah Brown, Director of Exploris’ Middle School campus. At Exploris, “crew” refers to small groups of students who meet with their teacher each day to explore the school’s core values of Innovation, Relationships,
Today, we are honored to profile the extraordinary Dr. Natalie Smith, Founder and CEO, Global Citizens Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. On any given day at Global Citizens Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., a four-year-old might greet you in Mandarin, a kindergartner might switch effortlessly into Spanish, and a parent might text their school’s founder to share that their