Metro Philadelphia Education Power Players

Catherine Charlton is the executive director of Musicopia and Dancing Classrooms Philly, affiliate organizations that collectively serve over 7,800 programs annually to over 20,000 students. The organizations have a shared vision of providing equitable access to the transformational power of the arts for all children and youth. Catherine has taught hundreds of students for over 20 years as a piano teacher, and currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Philadelphia chapter of The Recording Academy as co-chair of the Education Committee.

What is something you have learned from your students?
Children have a natural creative curiosity that often helps them approach tasks and problems in new and unexpected ways. It is learning how to keep this curiosity and openness that will help us change our world. My favorite teaching moments include giving the same creative assignment with the same tools and instructions to multiple children and marveling at the incredible and inspiring variety of the outcomes.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
Playing in the Javanese gamelan ensemble at university opened my ears and heart to music beyond the standard Western piano repertoire. Meanwhile, as a music library circulation assistant for my work-study job, I regularly explored the stacks of an extensive record collection from around the globe. This music was so foreign to anything I heard as a child in rural Virginia and the exciting and creative sounds changed my own music-making forever. It is this global awareness we strive to bring to Musicopia and DCP pre-K to 12th-grade programs, with a roster of musicians and dance styles from around the world.

What conditions do you think are necessary for a safe and effective learning environment?
The arts are crucial for all school environments. It is through music, movement, painting, and poetry that we express our innermost emotions and experiences in ways that not only are helping us unbottle them, but also reflect the experiences and dreams of our peers around us. We learn that not only is it okay to vulnerably express from within, but in witnessing and supporting our friends and peers doing the same thing, we are giving space for mutual respect, healing, and connection. In this creative environment, minds are ready to learn and move forward together.

How do we ensure those without privilege have equal access to quality education and opportunity?
Legislation and philanthropy should give funding directly to the schools and organizations that are on the ground doing the work and who have connections and deep ties to their communities. Developing mentorship and training pathways that help young people lift up the next generation also creates immediate opportunity and ensures sustainable access and self-fulfilling quality education. 

Amy L. Clemons is a seasoned education professional with over 20 years of experience and the head of school at the Woodlynde School. She previously worked at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, the Community School of Naples, the Renbrook School in Connecticut, and The Shipley School. She has a master’s degree in Education. 

Teresa Collins is an early child education and workforce compliance professional with 25 years of experience. She is currently the executive director of the District 1199C Training and Upgrading Fund, and has worked there for the past five years, heading efforts and innovative programs to expand affordable pre-K education for disadvantaged and low-income families. The Training Fund serves over 4,000 students annually, and facilitates access to career pathways in human services and healthcare. 

Jessica Cunningham Akoto is KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools’ CEO. Jessica started her career in DC Public Schools and later at KIPP DC, serving as a teacher, principal, and CEO. Jessica earned a bachelor’s degree in African American History from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from American University. She is a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow, a 2015 Milken Educator Award winner, and a Philadelphia Business Journal 2020 Minority Business Leader. 

Dr. Christopher Daly is a teaching professor at Villanova University specializing in the history of early and medieval Christianity and the history of late-medieval and early-modern England. He teaches Villanova’s two-semester Augustine and Culture Seminar Program, which introduces first-year students to seminal primary-text sources from various disciplines, ranging from ancient to contemporary periods. Dr. Daly and his colleagues strive to instill in students the capability to speak confidently and compellingly, write fluently and elegantly, and ask challenging questions. Dr. Daly is also a talented organist with a passion for the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach. 

What is something you have learned from your students?
My students bring fresh perspectives and often markedly diverse approaches to what we read and discuss. In the 30 years that I have been teaching, I have read these texts many times–but young, first-time readers invariably challenge what I thought were the lessons to be derived from the authors. They do so by sometimes making allusions to their own culture and vantage points. Time and again, they make me aware that there can never really be–nor should there be–settled answers to intellectual and moral inquiry and interpretation.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
Both at the College of William and Mary and at the University of Oxford, I was fortunate to experience master teachers in tutorial settings, either as a solitary student or with a partner. These sessions could at times be discursive: beginning, for instance, with a discussion of Lollard theology in the late 14th century and somehow migrating to topics as diffuse as contemporary art and politics.  But always these mentors invited intellectual flexibility and curiosity, showing us how to think expansively and to connect seemingly narrow and arcane subjects with broader themes and occurrences.

What conditions do you think are necessary for a safe and effective learning environment?
It is no easy task to convince diffident young adults that they really do have worthwhile points of view about topics that at first glance may seem esoteric. But I have found that this can be achieved by trying to set a tone of humility in the classroom: each of us listening with respect, reacting with affection, laughing together, trying not to be afraid to make a mistake or bungle a response, and realizing that the point of liberal arts education is to equip each of us to live with passion, think rigorously, and connect with one another in kindness.

How do we ensure those without privilege have equal access to quality education and opportunity? 
I think that as long as we base funding for our primary and secondary schools on the so-called “zip-code lottery,” we hobble many students with unequal and often unsatisfactory educational preparation. My colleagues and I try to meet students where they are, challenge them, and as we prepare them for whatever career awaits, help to foster their characters as well as their minds to lead good and worthwhile lives.

Katharine Davis is the 15th president of Central High School, the second oldest public high school in the United States. She is the first woman, first alumna, and first African American to lead the school. Prior to becoming a school leader, Kate served as an assistant principal and teacher in New York City. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a master’s degree from Pace University. She is a proud member of Central’s 264th graduating class. 

What is something you have learned from your students?
There is so much joy in learning and discovery. Always pursue your passions.

What conditions do you think are necessary for a safe and effective learning environment?
Trust, collaboration, and emotional safety.

How do we ensure those without privilege have equal access to quality education and opportunity?
We increase access and opportunity by intentionally designing at the margins and prioritizing those who have been historically underrepresented and underserved. As school leaders, we have the responsibility to examine systems that exist within our learning institutions, and question who is and who isn’t being served by these systems. We must always seek input and feedback.

As Jounce Partners’ founder and executive director, Paul Dean focuses on the design, execution, and effectiveness of programming. Prior to founding Jounce, Paul worked at New Orleans College Preparatory, an award-winning urban charter school in New Orleans. At NOCP, Paul served on the five-person school leadership team, managed teachers as an instructional coach, and taught English and science. Paul began his career at Carver High School in New Orleans. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, where he graduated summa cum laude. 

What is something you have learned from your students?
One of my students, a 16-year-old who had not been taught to read, once looked up at the road signs above the highway and said, ‘Mr. Dean, when I can read, I’m going to read all the words I see!’ My kids consistently taught me that there was not a lack of effort or care–they wanted to learn, and even when it didn’t seem that way, it was an expression of the frustration that comes with simply not being taught.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
Learning geometry. The idea that I could use my knowledge and a set of rules to prove something as true was so exciting and framed how I thought about so many other logical puzzles in life.

What conditions do you think are necessary for a safe and effective learning environment?
Students need to feel that their teachers care about them as individuals and as learners and that they will push them relentlessly. I think it’s really powerful when teachers can communicate to their class that they themselves love to learn, to try, to err sometimes, and to try again in search of precision, nuance, and new understandings. 

How do we ensure those without privilege have equal access to quality education and opportunity? 
Expertise. There are many, many societal factors with deep historical underpinnings that contribute to unjust outcomes and unequal opportunities. As a society, we should be acknowledging and then attacking all of these. But in terms of concrete actions that we can take to address equal access to quality education, having true experts teaching our kids and leading our schools is a game changer.

Carolina Cabrera DiGiorgio serves as the president and CEO of Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a $24 million social service agency that has received multiple awards from Top Workplaces. Congreso operates with a comprehensive data and human-centered approach focused on economic self-sufficiency and well-being. She serves as a board member of the IBC Foundation, the Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, the Nelson Foundation, and BLOCS. She is a member of St. Norbert Church and School. Education is at the forefront of Carolina’s professional and home life. She is a strong believer that we must model and provide safe, effective learning environments at home, in our communities, and in the classroom. 

What is something you have learned from your students?
Our younger generations have just as much to teach us as our elders, and I have learned over the years to value their input equally. Our children and youth are the designers of our future society. They often hold the key to innovation, progress, and advancement so that as a society we can collectively evolve and continue to learn. Our children deserve our focused attention.

What was your favorite moment or experience in your own education?
My first year at Rutgers Law School was unforgettable because it was extremely challenging. My competitive drive, determination, and humility all set in. Surrounded by peers, faculty, and colleagues who supported my success in a new educational environment, I adapted to a new way of learning–something that I enjoy very much and continue to challenge myself to do each day.

What conditions do you think are necessary for a safe and effective learning environment?
The opportunity to create safe, effective learning environments begins in our homes and communities, especially during early childhood. Ensuring our youth are mentally, emotionally, and physically thriving in stable, loving, caring environments is critical. Even as adults, research shows that well-being, including psychological safety, is a key indicator of performance. In schools, an inclusive culture, tailored approaches and curriculum, faculty recruitment and retention, and financial resources and policy, are determinants of an effective learning environment for all. We each have a role to play so that learning is optimized in all environments, and we must recognize that we each learn and process information in different ways.

How do we ensure those without privilege have equal access to quality education and opportunity?
Continued advocacy and learning from our collective past mistakes ensure that all individuals have viable access to quality education and opportunity. Understanding the root causes and being open to change is also integral in striving for progress daily. I still believe America is a nation of opportunity and promise. It is essential that we recognize our collective humanity and common ground, respect differences, value our diverse journeys, and ultimately unite. 

Fr. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, has served as Villanova University’s president since June 2006. Under his leadership, Villanova has charted a course of significant transformation that includes developing and initiating two ambitious 10-year strategic plans, enhancing the intellectual and scholarly climate, dramatically expanding student opportunities, initiating a vibrant physical campus renovation, and launching the university’s largest comprehensive fundraising campaign. Bolstered by his vision, Villanova has introduced new initiatives, become more nationally recognized for its academic prowess, and broken university admission records.