GCSSA In-Service Session: “Facing History & Ourselves” with Dr. Desmond Blackburn
April 9 @ 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
Session One @ 8:30 am
Corporate College East
4400 Richmond Rd., Warrensville Heights
Session Two @ 11:30 am
City Club at Playhouse Square
1317 Euclid Ave., Cleveland
GCSSA, in partnership with the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, welcomes Dr. Desmond K. Blackburn, PhD, President and CEO of Facing History & Ourselves. Since April 2023, Dr. Blackburn has focused on expanding access to high-impact instructional resources and building organizational cultures that support educators and students.
Previously, Dr. Blackburn served as Deputy Chancellor of School Leadership for New York City Public Schools and as Superintendent of Brevard Public Schools, where the district earned consecutive “A” ratings and national recognition.
Superintendents will benefit from Dr. Blackburn’s unique perspective as a former district leader who has led at every level, from classroom teacher to superintendent to senior leadership in the nation’s largest school system. His session will offer practical insights on advancing equity, strengthening leadership pipelines, supporting school improvement, and creating systems that empower educators to confront bias, build inclusive school cultures, and improve student outcomes.
To register for one or both sessions, email Teri Hedrick at thedrick@osconline.org.
Location:
City Club at Playhouse Square1317 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115
Map
Cost
Free
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Speakers
Desmond K. Blackburn, PhD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Desmond K. Blackburn, PhD began serving as President and CEO of Facing History & Ourselves in April, 2023. Desmond is committed to bringing Facing History’s resources to more teachers, schools, and districts than ever. He is also dedicated to nurturing a workplace culture where staff are highly engaged and excited to help teachers and their students stand up to bigotry and hate. Before joining Facing History, Desmond was Deputy Chancellor of School Leadership for the New York City Department of Education, the largest school system in the nation. In this role, he oversaw executive superintendents in addition to all-district and high school superintendents. Prior to that, Desmond served as CEO of the New Teacher Center, a national nonprofit that works to disrupt the predictability of educational inequities for systemically underserved students by accelerating educator effectiveness. His career in education began in 1996 as a high school math teacher. Desmond continued to follow his passion for education as he rose through the Broward County Public School system in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Assistant Principal, Principal, Director of School Improvement, Area Superintendent, and finally Chief of School Performance & Accountability. In 2015 he became the Superintendent of Schools for Brevard Public Schools in Brevard County, where his guidance led to the 10th highest graduation rate in the state with three schools earning the distinguished National Blue Ribbon, and the State of Florida grading the system with an “A” for two consecutive years. Desmond has served both state and national organizations including the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) and Chiefs For Change. He sits on the Board of Educational Resource Strategies and is a fellow at the Broad Academy and Pahara Institute as well as an Advisory Committee Member for The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management. He received a BS in Mathematics from the University of Florida along with graduate degrees in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University (MS) and Florida Atlantic University (PhD).
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