Along with evaluation results showing the impact of NYC Leadership programs on student learning outcomes are stories about the principals whose instructional leadership is transforming some of the city's highest need schools. We share some of these inspiring stories below:
- Qadir Dixon: A 2007 graduate of the Leadership Academy’s APP program, Qadir Dixon faced an uphill challenge at Harlem’s IS 286—the Renaissance Military and Leadership Academy—when he arrived in August 2007. When the city issued its first report cards last fall, the school earned an ‘F,’ the lowest possible Progress Report grade. However, as The New York Post reported in June 2008, “the latest test scores indicate that IS 286 has come a long way.” Read more .
- Adrian Manuel: A graduate of the Leadership Academy’s APP program, Adrian Manuel, principal of ACCION Academy in the Bronx, brings art education to bear on his students. As noted in the New York Daily News, students at the school have made a positive statement with their lunch table. “Using the table as canvas and mosaic, paint and paper, students illustrated the positives in their community such as family and religion—and the negatives, such as drugs and violence." Read more .
- When Shimon Waronker, who graduated with the first APP cohort, was placed in JHS 22 in the Bronx, he was that school’s seventh principal in two years. The New York Times provides an account of the school’s transformation since Principal Waronker's arrival. Read more .