Educators unite!
Dr. Gemar Mills, the Co-Founder and Chief Academic Officer of College Achieve Paterson (CAP) and formerly dubbed “Turnaround Principal,” recently released a new book, utilizing his experience at Shabazz High School to teach other educators how to transform their schools from the inside out in 180 days.
The Paterson, New Jersey native recently embarked on a mission to close prisons by opening up schools. But before he began his valiant effort, it all started at Malcolm X. Shabazz High, where Mills made history as the youngest principal at just 28-years-old. There he honed in on his skills to turn a failing school around, transforming the culture, boosting the retention, and improving the graduation rate significantly. Now Dr. Mills has released a new book, chronicling his journey and sharing his model with other educators.
The Turnaround: 180 Days of Change focuses on improving leadership in education by addressing structural challenges within the educational system, the future of education and strategies that can be implemented in schools right now to help transform it in 180 days. The book is divided into two parts, the “Black” and the “Gold,” a nod to Shabazz’s school colors. The “Black” details Dr. Mills’ journey while the “Gold” lays out how he used those insights to develop a successful education model.
In his book, Dr. Mills identifies five levels of change to assist educators; mindset, structures, curriculum, professional development, and monitoring. Through these levels, he wholeheartedly believes that educators can be inspired to become the necessary change agents in their building. He’s proved this model works, boasting skyrocketing numbers during his tenure at Shabazz and among his students at CAPS. With Dr. Mills help more than 80% of students showed a 55% increase in reading benchmarks and 52% of seventh-graders showed a 25% increase in math within the first two years of opening.
“My hope is that these stories will inspire educators to understand what is needed to push through the trials and tribulations and be successful in this field. I’m humbled to be able to continue to work in a space where I’m looking all the way from the top…it’s empowering, humbling and great to have a voice to suggest…ways we can get the students to where they need to be. It’s another action research project that supports my thinking about educating students in an urban community and see that it works,” Dr. Mills told Because Of Them We Can.
To purchase The Turnaround: 180 Days of Change, visit www.gemarmills.store.
Thank you for all of your efforts, Dr. Mills!
Photo Courtesy of NorthJersey.Com