Diversity Talk: The Global Leadership Academy of West Philadelphia

Talk Description

This presentation will share the story and mission of the Global Leadership Academy located in West Philadelphia. Greg Wright will talk about how they have implemented a revolutionary experiential travel teaching and learning program that takes poor black students from Philadelphia all around the world each year to become civil rights activists, global learners, experienced travelers and black history storytellers.

This presentation will share how students are developing their own docent programs that share the Black Philadelphia story.

GLA’s commitment to sharing and teaching black history, culture, heritage to the children of West Philadelphia has been highlighted in the national media by actor Will Smith who is also a native of West Philadelphia.

The Diversity Project is committed to supporting GLA’s global experiential travel program.

Speakers

Greg Wright is the global education director at the Global Leadership Academy (GLA) in West Philadelphia, one of the most successful charter schools in the country.As Global Education Director is committed to providing young black youth with opportunities to travel and experience cultures throughout the world and deepen their understanding of how they can contribute to our global society.

Each year students travel to places like China, Jamaica Canada and to the Deep South on an annual Civil Rights learning expedition. The GLA campus is also home of the 60’ foot mural of actor rapper Will Smith who is from West Philly sitting on a chair in a suit and Air Jordan’s, Will Smith uses this mural to help raise funds for students of GLA.

Dr. Naomi Johnson Booker has had an exemplary career in public education. A classroom teacher who rose to area superintendent in the School District of Philadelphia where she managed 15 schools, Dr. Booker transitioned to the charter school world in July 2001. As principal of Clymer School in Philadelphia School District for 11 years, she restructured a failing public school and turned it around receiving recognitions from the School District and the Pa. Department of Education for its improvement. She then was selected to serve as the Gratz Cluster Leader in Philadelphia before serving as a Regional Vice President for Curriculum and Instruction for a charter school management company in Pennsylvania, Washington, D. C., and Delaware. In this position she coached and mentored Chief Academic Officers of charter schools, developed retreats for strategic planning for boards, provided staff development locally and nationally and provided financial advice for the school. In 2006 she restructured a failing charter school and is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Leadership Academies, West
and Southwest.