April McKoy Robinson’s success story as principal and founder of the award-winning UA Gateway School of Technology high school in New York City is an unlikely one. As an immigrant from Jamaica, April’s time in school once she came to America heavily influenced her. While she flourished due to attentive and brutally honest teachers in elementary school, she struggled at Bronx Science — her high-achieving high school. Not because she wasn’t bright, but because of a system that largely ignored the brilliance of her and the other children of color attending. April graduated and went on the college at Hampton University and grad school at NYU in spite of this. And today, she dedicates her life to leveling the playing field for her students, preparing them in meaningful ways for life and their futures, and recognizing the brilliant light in each of them.

Hear why April passionately believes that a child’s demography should not dictate your destiny, the best thing about teaching and the must-read books that she recommends for every educator.

On this episode you’ll learn…

• 3 Tips for successfully opening and running a school
• Stereotype Threat and how it affects students
• The dangers of adultifying young people
• The importance of modeling
• The power of having a growth mindset
• Taking a chance on yourself, even if you’re not certain that you can do it
• The thing about difficult conversations
• Why educators need to be uncomfortable
• Why it’s ok – and even empowering – to cry at work
• Why you must approach everything with radical sincerity

Thank you for listening! And hey, if you love it, click here to leave us a Rating & Review on iTunes!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT UA GATEWAY SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY HIGH SCHOOL at uagateway.org
Click here to donate to the students of UA Gateway School of Technology High School.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
April McKoy Robinson’s must-read books for educators:
Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude M. Steele (W. W. Norton & Company)
Focus:Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning by Mike Schmoker (Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development)
Multiplication is for White People by Lisa Delpit (The New Press)
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck (Ballantine Books)
Better
Good to Great by Jim Collins (HarperBusiness)

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[Music: “Someone Else’s Memories” by Revolution Void]

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