Modeling Behavior, Consistency, Collective Accountability, and Relationship building You can’t hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree.—Malcolm X Being a principal is a rewarding profession. It is also one of the...
Tag - Mastery Charter-Shoemaker Campus
El-Mekki’s leadership is marked by his own cultural pride, a personal record of activism, and an unapologetic commitment to making sure Black students have the supports and tools to do the nation-building their community...
Often, you hear about leaders, far earlier than you meet them. Sitting in a café near the school where I lead as principal, Mastery-Shoemaker, I was approached by a beaming waitress. “My granddaughter, Tatiana, is coming to...
During my eleven years as the proud principal of the Mastery Charter Schools – Shoemaker Campus, I had the distinct honor of celebrating nine graduating classes. Below are my final remarks to the graduating class of this...

Is School Choice the Black Choice: A Lack of Student Performance Data and the Need for More Black-Run Charters Focus of Philadelphia Town Hall
Philadelphia has a data problem, and the district’s regression from transparently reporting on student achievement by race and ethnicity is not only a cause for concern but also an intentional move to hide poor performance...
The 74 and prominent African-American journalist Roland Martin are heading to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection on May 29 for their third stop on a 10-city tour launched to engage black families on issues of...
This reflective piece was written by a Mastery Charter – Shoemaker Campus alumnus, Rodney White. He attended a full time dual enrollment program at the Community College of Philadelphia during his senior year. Rodney had a...
We could not do the work of using education as a platform for liberation without the deep support of our parents. They are our most important and most knowledgeable partners in this work. And, we deeply value the two-way...
This is our school community’s thirteenth year serving students as a turnaround neighborhood charter school. Our turnaround school, used to be the second most dangerous school in the city, if not the state. I attended Shoemaker...
Mastery Charter School – Shoemaker Campus. The Class of 2018. Our 8th graduating class at our turnaround charter school. While Shoemaker used to be second most violent school in Philadelphia, and likely Pennsylvania, today...