Featured in CNN’s “Black in America“ series and Oprah’s “Lifeclass,” Dr. Steve Perry is the most talked about, innovative educator on the scene today. Perry is the founder and principal of what U.S. News and World Report has cited as one of the top schools in the country, Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut. Capital Prep has sent 100% of its predominantly low-income, minority, first generation high school graduates to four-year colleges every year since its first class graduated in 2006.
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Perry is in a hurry to transform the community. Born into his family’s third generation of poverty on his mother’s 16th birthday, Perry believes that the success of a life is determined by where you end, not where you start. It is this philosophy that inspired him to transform the lives of poor and minority children by providing them with access to a college education.
Out of the heart of an impoverished community, Perry pursued and completed a bachelors degree program in political science from the University of Rhode Island, a masters program in social work from the University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate in education from the University of Hartford. He leads by example and inspires those with whom he encounters to be better, dream bigger, and strive for excellence at the highest level.
When Perry speaks, he reaches the heart of his audience to motivate change in themselves and their community. His secrets to success and calls to action are revealed in his new book, Push Has Come to Shove: Getting Our Kids The Education They Deserve — Even If It Means Picking A Fight.
In addition to being the principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Perry is an education contributor for CNN and MSNBC, an Essence magazine columnist, a best-selling author, and host of “Save My Son,” the No. 1 docudrama for TVOne. He’s also a speaker for Steve Harvey’s Disney Dreamers Academy.
BlackEnterprise.com caught up with this Middletown, Connecticut native to discuss leadership, education, and fathering our nation’s children.
BlackEnterprise.com: You’re an incredible educator and advocate for predominantly low-income, minority students of color. What inspired you to advance this calling on your life?
Perry: There’s nothing inherently wrong with our kids. It’s not that our kids don’t want to learn. That’s fundamentally not true. I feel like all they need is a genuine chance. In many ways our kids are more talented than they are given credit for. They eke out a life from their miserable circumstances–it takes a real special little fellow or young lady to be able to do that. Knowing that unnecessary academic, social, and economic gaps exist and could be challenged with unwavering commitment, inspired me to advocate for their overall success.
Capital Preparatory Magnet has sent 100% of its non-traditional students (low-income, minority, first generation high school graduates) four-year institutions since its inception in 2006, which is phenomenal. With so many other institutions unable to do even 20% of that–that’s pretty impressive. What’s your ‘secret sauce’?
There’s no secret. We have high expectations. You get high output when you start with high input. We see our children for what they can be, not what they are. We refuse to focus on limitations; we focus on possibilities. Our institution is designed to send students to college. Although our day is longer, our teachers and administrators are more effective.
You’ve talked a great deal about redefining the term father. Can you discuss the more traditional definition of ‘father’ against what you might consider a more comprehensive one?
Traditionally the definition has honestly always been about being a breadwinner. A parental mule–but, the modern father has to feel. He has to talk to his sons and daughters about love and being loved, about respect and being respected–about being in a respectful relationship. That dominance is not driven by his brutality, but his will to do great things for the community.
It’s often said that fatherless children often ‘act out’–displaying certain negative behaviors–because they’re really just looking for validation from others. Can you highlight the differences in those behaviors between male and female children?
Young men and women can succumb to some real limitations. For both of them, it’s a form of self-mutilation. Girls turn it inward. They allow men to enter them physically and metaphorically and take what they will. And then they express their hurt externally. They build walls and become needy. Boys become disruptive and distant.
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The academic community has labeled you a thought leader in innovative education. What are you doing differently (in thinking and dealing with the issues on ground) that you think is making you stand out?
What is stunning to me is that my youngest son asked me, “Dad, why do people call you controversial?†I said, “I really don’t know.†I believe that all children, if given access to a quality
education, will learn. My guess is that the other people may not believe that. I had a conversation with a California legislator the other day who said you need to consider poverty. I was like, “What does that mean? If kids are poor they can’t learn?†She said no. So I asked, “What’s the best poverty program? She responded, “Education.”The other thing is that the teachers’ unions are behind the crumbling school systems. Low expectations are the root of the problem. Don’t do something completely egregious, you will keep your job below average. They don’t want data to be used to monitor their members because it can reveal an uncomfortable truth. I am willing to call a spade a spade and a problem, a problem.
You were born into your own family’s third-generation of poverty. What about your own experiences have impacted the work you do today?
When I was about 9 years old, my mom was a member of our tenant’s association. One day we were in a meeting and there were these guys at the head of the table. My mother seemed so small to me behind table and in relationship to the other men. Mom was asking for credit. At that time, you had to pay for oil in public housing–cash. They wouldn’t just give it to you. My mom thought that was wrong. All cash on delivery for everything. This was before laws that they said companies could not cut off heat in winter.
I watched my mom fight for what she believed in and was empowered by her struggle. I was like, “aren’t we human?“ It didn’t seem right. But I couldn’t do anything at the time; I would have gotten my little behind locked up. So, yeah, I grew up with a chip on my shoulder. But as a result, I am not afraid to stand up for what I know is right, or acknowledge that wrong is wrong.
People are doing the community wrong, and we’ve waited so long—400+ years and we’re still begging for basic stuff. In Baltimore and New Haven (as well as all over the rest of the country), people are still trying to learn to read. It’s a travesty. At this rate, it may actually take about 75 years to close the achievement gap. Perhaps even 100 years, research shows.
The politics and the expectations of fatherhood are experienced differently in America, depending on the shade of your skin. Of course income and social status are part of the analysis. Can you talk to me about being a Black father in America, including your fears and expectations of your own children?
One of the hardest things about being a black father—who didn’t grow up with one—is answering the question of what does it mean to be a father who is black? We’re just trying to figure out how to do this thing when we’ve never been led by a man in our life. All of our time is spent feeling our way through it. I do think about my own father and the fears that both he and I grew up with, the potential of being involved in crime and being locked up.
But I also think about the differences that my sons grow up with. They have access to things I didn’t. They ride with their father to school. We do homework together, I coach them, and take them to piano lessons. I know other like-minded dads and we plan our children’s weekend together. My children have access to professionals and entrepreneurs as just regular dudes that come over to the house–like the VP of ESPN or Steve Harvey. They have a lifestyle that doesn’t even seem real. My experiences as a child were not even on the same planet.
However, I think my situation is quite similar to other middle-class black adults with children—we’re over compensating, which can make our children soft. We have to make sure they understand the realities that exist outside of this bubble.
You’ve had such incredible success in your current role and your results speak for themselves. Do you ever think of things that you could have done differently, or have you made any critical mistakes that have impacted early results?
The biggest mistake I made is thinking that just because people were black, they were going to have our back. I played myself. I should have known that people are people. I jumped out in front of this thing and thought that if I presented people with how bad our community was doing that, naturally, they would help. Some of biggest opponents were from our community. They were fighting for the status quo. It reminded me of the famous Harriet Tubman’s quote, “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.†We have felt, for too long, that the system that’s hurting us is helping us. We’re creatures of habit in our community.
What are your plans for the future, in terms of advocacy and educational reform in low-income communities of color?
The future is bright. Â Education reformers are multiplying. The more you have, the more will be reformed. We are becoming more sophisticated and thoughtful in all methods of teaching. Gone are the days of eggheads resigned to merely fighting against unions. We’re no longer afraid of escalating progress. We’re prepared to do the real work and go the extra mile.
There are now, more than ever, more opportunities to send children to great schools. Not long ago, it was a perceived fact that if a kid was poor and a minority they could not be successful. The notion was treated like a foregone conclusion: you were resigned to failure. Young people are going to college. Our school is but one of the schools; we are not the only one. The traditional schools are so bad–that’s why we have to be so good. It’s an open wound in our community that’s festering. We know that it’s bad, but knowing it’s bad isn’t enough. More money won’t solve the problem. Sinking a whole bunch of money into the problem won’t fix it. What’s needed is our unwavering commitment, which is a simple recipe composed of our time and effort.
Thank you for sharing your incredible insight with us Dr. Perry. Finally, what’s your best advice to parents whose children fit the demographic that you serve?
Read to your kids as soon as you can and as often as you can, until they can read to you. After they read to you, make them write about that they’ve read. Then make them write again. Kids can do anything if they can read. Their confidence will be through the roof. Confidence precedes competence. Kids who are best at school believe that they can be good at school. They aren’t scared to face new challenges and excel in ways that transform the way they show up in the world.
To keep up with Dr. Perry’s work, connect with him at www.drsteveperry.org or on Twitter: @DrSteveperry.
Karima Mariama-Arthur, Esq. is the founder and CEO of WordSmithRapport, an international consulting firm specializing in professional development. Follow her on Twitter: @WSRapport or visit her website, WordSmithRapport.com.