Sharif El-Mekki

Activist, Blogger, Change agent, Concerned citizen, Connector, Consultant, Educator/Teacher, Muslim, Parent, Startup, Student, World traveler

Sharif El-Mekki is the Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development. The Center exists to rebuild the national #BlackTeacherPipeline by ensuring 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. CBED’s core work is (re) building a National Black Teacher Pipeline. The Center is developing a nationally relevant model to measurably increase teacher diversity and support Black educators through three pillars: Pathways, Professional Learning, & Policies. 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 and served as a volunteer member of the Biden-Harris Education Policy Committee. El-Mekki’s school, Mastery Charter Shoemaker Campus, 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 multiple U.S. delegations to various international conferences on education. In 2014, El-Mekki founded the Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice, an organization dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and developing Black men teachers. El-Mekki blogs on Philly’s 7th Ward, is 1/4 of the 8 Black Hands podcast, and serves on several boards and committees focused on educational and racial justice.

Education, youth, activism, environmental, racial, social justice

#WeNeedBlackTeachers

What would it take to rebuild a national, highly effective, sustainable, and predictable Black Teacher Pipeline? Why did our high school students determine that #WeNeedBlackTeachers would be their campaign and demand? Why was Caroline LeCount demanding more Black teachers in the 1800s and how did we lost 40K Black teachers after the landmark US Supreme Court case of Brown v Board of Education? How did we lose almost 1,200 Black teachers in Philadelphia alone over the last decade? What can be done about it through a #BlackTeacherPipeline?

Sorta learning more about beekeeping.