SHARIF EL-MEKKI

After attending an elementary Pan-African Freedom School, middle school in Iran, and Overbrook HS, El-Mekki attended IUP as a Criminal Justice Major. After a brief stint as a social worker and counselor at the Youth Study Center, he became eager to make a community-focused impact. As the son of an educator and activists, El-Mekki had a strong desire to dive into a cause that would address issues relating to social justice, equity and educational opportunities. Through a friend, El-Mekki learned of an opportunity to become a teacher through an alternative certification program for African American men. After teaching for 8 ½ years, he became an administrator at Turner and Shaw middle schools-both located in southwest Philadelphia. For the past eight years, El-Mekki has been the proud principal at Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker Campus a neighborhood public charter that serves 750 students in grades 7-12. El-Mekki has been an educator for twenty-four years. El-Mekki’s team at the Shoemaker Campus have been recognized by President Obama and Oprah Winfrey for having created a community school that is successfully to turning around a previously failing schools. New Leaders has awarded the Shoemaker Campus with the prestigious EPIC award for three consecutive years as being amongst the top three schools in the country for accelerating students’ achievement levels. Shoemaker Campus was also recently recognized as one of the top ten middle schools and top ten high schools in the state of Pennsylvania for accelerating the achievement levels of African American students. El-Mekki currently serves on the Mayor’s Commission on African American Males and recently completed a fellowship with America Achieves, a non-profit organization that helps communities, states, and practitioners leverage policy, practice, and leadership to build high-quality educational systems. He also recently finished serving two years as one of Secretary Duncan’s three Principal Ambassadors, providing the principalship perspective to the Secretary of Education and his senior cabinet. El-Mekki and several other Black male educators recently launched a new organization called The Fellowship which focuses on supporting current and aspiring Black male educators in the Philadelphia region. El-Mekki holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and gained his Master’s degree and Principal Certification from Cheyney University.