I I would say that started,
man, about nine years ago.
I know for me the first connection started
off with meeting Ashley Farring,
connecting through Twitter.
I had a mentoring program and hw
it and we connected through the.
And then actually I think new
acronym and so then so then us e
connected and then I'll let who
else how this else I've been hee
early on and in my administrative career
just really felt like I wanted to connect
with others that looked like me and that
maybe had similar experiences with me.
And so I'm wanting to start a gp
called the Black Educators emer.
And when I started that I just I wanted to
find other black educators around the area
and I just started calling like different.
Schools or finding people that e
working at different schools ano
that's all it was connected to Akram.
He connected me to Ashley and then I've
known Richmond Sway since middle school
so and I and then a colleague of mine
worked with Nate at Minnetonka h
School and so that's how I was d
of looped into to the group as .
The job changes every day and ad
so I've been an administrator at
the elementary level, middle scl
principal and now high school principal.
I've never had the same day and then I
would say students in in in being able to
be a part of shaping the student experience.
The the big picture level,
but then also like individual
connections with students.
Like each day.
That remains the most special
part of my job. Yeah,
I think for me what's most special is.
Really when you when you work with kids
and you and you meet them at very young,
but then when you run into
them later on in life,
you meet students as you know,
5th or 6th graders and they can,
you know, tie their shoes and and find
their classes and things like t.
But then you you meet them at 22
and they're talking about being
engineers and doctors and lawyes
and just all the great things
that are happening in their liv.
It makes everything worth it
and we're all privileged enough to be.
In those roles.
But we know that nationwide thee
are many of us in those roles.
So the influence and the
voice that we could bring,
the perspective to influence
the shape of system,
to look differently,
to feel differently,
to act differently is is what
I really enjoy more most about
the principal principal ship.
I always go back to my why.
The reason why I got into this s
because I go back to my why of
my brother who changed my life.
So at the end of the day when
I'm getting ready to retire,
if I could have one last one.
Person that I've been able
to impact their life,
whether it's being an educator
or being a lawyer or a doctor,
but just put something in
them and inspire them.
That's that's it for me.
So that's that's what makes me y
day in this world of principle,
just the ability to be able
to reach a lot of people.
I feel like a rock star walking around
the building, to be honest, they like Mr.
Farrington is here.
No, just all of the daily interactions
that I have on that principle who are.
It's always in the space with the kids at
the door to greet them when they get in.
Greet them when they're going h,
letting them know how much they matter to us,
saying their name. I don't know.
I feel lucky, humbled,
appreciative that I just got to
be in that space and be a part f
this change and be with these g.
I don't know if there's any better jobs.
I wanna be somebody that is helping others.
That's how I got an education.
So supporting students,
supporting families,
supporting teachers, everything
that I do is about relationship.
Each and every day it's, you kn,
it's a blessing. It's a joy.
I wake up motivated to be there.
You look in education, there's s
than 2% of black men in educati.
So to be able to get connected
with others and work.
I couldn't miss out on that opportunity.
Like when I was growing up if I saw you
know a black man happen to be in education,
which was far and few in betwee.
I may not know if he really understood.
You know it's on something as se
as how they present themselves.
I'm not always in a suit to the
point if I do wear a suit at sc,
kids like what's going on today.
I'm intentional.
I'm intentional nose with regar.
But it's also, it's a different world.
I think it's very important.
As well, just for students to be
able to see us as role models ad
being able to see us as, you kn,
change agents and in that way.
And I think that's for, you kno,
for students of color and it's r
white students as well because
there's a lot of other ways that
black men are depicted sometime.
And I think that it's important
to show them that, hey, we are,
you know, doing great work.
We are caring, we are loving,
we are approachable.
We are all of these things.
Only thinking about, you know,
how to racially diversify,
how to diversify the experience,
the lived experiences of indivis
that work experiences as you kn,
and all of us starting in the classroom.
But we have some solid lived
experiences that have led to soe
of this brilliance that come out
that's needed and in education.
I think it's, you know,
having a cultural background and knowledge.
You know, when parents come
into the building, you know,
how are we connecting with them?
You know, are we informing them
of all that they need to know?
Sometimes it's hidden system systemically.
Excuse me where I don't feel as though
information is passed on to families that
need to be passed on to support their kids.
You know, there are times
where families come in,
they're surprised that I'm the principal,
especially if they knew if we
haven't made that connection, r?
So it's just changed the
narrative that we are beyond.
We're more than just the behavioral person.
Talking to a lot of families to,
you can hear or feel in their
voice some of the trauma,
some of the hard things that thy
experience going through the K12 system.
And I think that's our job, rig?
And I think that's our job and
our leadership capacity is how
do we create those conditions
where every student feels safe,
they feel seen,
they feel like they belong.
If you don't feel a sense of belonging
or connection to your school experience,
it's hard to imagine being a professional
or being a leader in that space.
It also starts with every kid
that I see that looks like me.
In the classrooms and the
schools that I've LED in and
the brilliance and the joy that
they have that often, you know,
doesn't get elevated enough in schools.
And yeah, you know, it's it's a constant.
It's a commitment.
Change. Change. And I think it's like
it's not it's not an easy journ.
It's a lot. It's it's a lot of good work.
But I think one of the things I'm saying is
I come to be a part of this change with us.
We especially in my role is celebrating our
teachers more so other people can see that.
So people want to do it right.
I think at times, unfortunately,
there are so many narratives about teaching
or about teachers or what they're doing
or not doing and that sometimese
people be like I don't want to do that.
And we have the shift that and here are the
great things that teachers are doing here.
The great things that are
happening in our classroom
really reaching out and.
And intentional reaching out to
students that are in college,
working with programs like cert,
connecting with black men,
teach where being intentional of
reaching out to individuals that
are coming up and exposing them
to the things that can happen
in the impact that you can have.
With all of our stories as we went back,
we've all had someone that impacted us
and said something that boosted us up.
It takes some foresight and some
intentionality to identify potel
even when people don't check all of the.
Traditional boxes.
We just got to do a better job in K12,
making the profession
appealing for all of our kids,
but particularly our black male students.