About Me
Humble Beginnings
From humble beginnings in rural northeastern North Carolina and educated at three major universities, the school of hard knocks has brought me to a comfort place of wisdom. Before my long teaching career as an educator and Social Studies Department Chair in MDCPS, I held some interesting jobs to help finance my education such as interning at the United States Coast Guard at Governor's Island and serving as a legislative intern in Bismarck, North Dakota.
My path
As an educator and Social Studies Department Chair, I taught all levels of students ranging from exceptional education to advanced placement in practically all of the subjects while completing the standard duties as chair. After being part of one of the first groups of National Board Certified teachers in Dade County, I wanted to take on the challenge of opening an independent non-profit charter school in 2005 in honor of my parents which brought me to the forefront of business. Serving a disadvantaged population, the vision was for each child to attend a post-secondary institution.
In spite of many challenges, there were many successes as becoming the first charter school accredited by SACS in South Dade and graduating three classes of students in which 70% or more attended college. Unfortunately, after almost ten years, the school closed. I chronicled my experiences in my recently released book, The Last One Hundred and Eighty Days which makes a case against high-stakes testing.
Join My Journey
My personal core values are freedom of expression, justice, fairness, equity and diversity and are consistently reflected through my writings and community service. Please go to my homepage to get a copy of my newly released book and make sure you read my blog. I look forward to comments.