This past year has been tumultuous, especially for educators. Across the country, school leaders have had to juggle navigating a global pandemic and our nation’s racial reckoning. They’ve transitioned to virtual teaching and learning, created space to discuss police brutality and systemic racism in their schools, and addressed the physical, social, and emotional needs of their students and families. In light of all, they have persevered through. Our School Leaders Who Inspire Series is intended to celebrate and highlight the prominent and impactful educators we have the pleasure of working with.
Over the course of this series, we will share interviews with school leaders about their motivations to lead and teach, their biggest lessons, influences, and best advice. You will learn more about their contributions to the public school system and how they have worked to provide their students with a high quality and equitable education.
Our Conversation with Leslie-Bernard Joseph, J.D.
How long have you been working in the charter school sector?
I first joined Coney Island Prep as part of its founding team in 2009. I left to pursue a law degree and spend time in the private sector, but I’ve been around charter schools for more than a decade.
What motivated you to do this work?
My personal story. I’m a first-generation American, who grew up in a single parent, low-income household and I experienced incredible opportunities because I had a privileged education despite my circumstances.
Does your school have any strategies to help support students’ racial identity development?
Yes, our social emotional learning curriculum is taught through our school core values of PRIDE, and delivered during weekly advisory sessions. We know our kids can’t be successful if they don’t know who they are and where they come from. Racial identity development is part of that essential learning.
Can you tell us more about the ways in which you support Black students and/or their families?
About three quarters of our families are Black & Brown, more than 80% come from families earning below the national average. The single biggest thing we can do to support our community is to operate an exceptional school, whose outcomes and commitment to equity set our kids and families up for long-term success. But more explicitly, we are proactively developing our kids to enter into and lead in a world where a Black Lives Matter movement is necessary. We prepare our kids — all of them regardless of race and ethnicity — to challenge the injustices they will encounter in the world.
What things can we, as lenders, do to more effectively support schools that effectively support and educate Black students and their families?
Too often philanthropic giving or financial support is given with the donors’ interests in mind. “We’ve designed a program” or “these are the metrics we care about.” It’s rare to find a partner who says, “You are the expert on the ground. Find the best use of resources for these large amounts of capital."
What are the biggest lessons you have learned from your school community?
Humility and resilience. Coney Island Prep has grown to educate more than a thousand students because parents demanded it, and advocated for our school to grow. Their vision and effort keeps us grounded. I’m never confused about this - our kids and our families are my bosses.
What is the best piece of advice you have gotten in your career so far and why?
To put my head down and keep working. Every now and then, look up. You might be amazed to see where you are. I never expected or wanted to be a CEO. It wasn’t part of “my plan.” But I love what I do.
About Leslie-Bernard Joseph, J.D.
Since 2019, Leslie-Bernard Joseph has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Coney Island Preparatory. He leads all schools and the central office team, ensuring that CIP continues to deliver its ambitious mission and commitment to our scholars, family, and community. He began his career teaching fifth grade in the Bronx through Teach for America, before joining the founding team at Coney Island Prep as the school’s first Dean of Students in 2009.
Aside, from Coney Island Prep. He has worked as an Associate at the management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company; and as a Managing Director at the Harlem Children’s Zone where he led a portfolio of eight programs supporting approximately 4,400 students across HCZ’s K-12 pipeline. He received his bachelor’s degree in Politics and African-American Studies from Princeton, where he served as both Student Body and Black Student Union president. He holds a law degree, with distinction, from Stanford Law School and a master’s degree from Stanford Graduate School of Education. While at Stanford, Leslie-Bernard was a 2013 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow. He is also a former trustee of Prep for Prep.
Our Work with Coney Island Preparatory
Coney Island Preparatory (CIP) is a high-performing charter school educating grades K-12 that has been a LISC partner for over a year. Coney Island Prep was founded in 2009 and serves a primarily African American, Hispanic and Latinx student population. Coney Island Prep’s mission is to help its students develop the academic and character skills necessary to be successful in college and career.
Coney Island Prep seeks to create an environment that institutionalizes practices, which advance the learning, access, and ability of all scholars. Coney Island Prep offers a research-backed, rigorous Common Core standards-aligned curriculum to ensure our scholars receive a true college preparatory experience and equitable access to content. Beginning in Middle School, students go on yearly trips to colleges and universities across the East Coast. In High School our students can study abroad, take pre-college courses at universities, and intern with businesses around New York City. Students who joined Coney Island Prep in Kindergarten outperformed their peers in most NYC charter and district schools in ELA by the time they reached 3rd grade. Every graduate of Coney Island Prep earned college acceptances, and their alumni are persevering through college at rates that are double the national average.
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School Leaders Who Inspire: Traci Thibodeaux