Posts Tagged ‘Cohorts’
Meet the 2025-26 Chief Academic Officer Cohort!
We’re thrilled to introduce our newest Chief Academic Officer Cohort class! This exceptional group of academic leaders from high-performing charter networks across the country will spend the year collaborating, problem-solving, and pushing each other’s practice.
Here’s to a year of growth, learning, and collective impact as we get to know each outstanding member of our cohort.
Meet Our 2025-26 Cohort Members
Tomi Okuyemi: Chief Academic Officer, Growing Up Green Charter Schools
Tomi serves as Chief Academic Officer at Growing Up Green Charter Schools in Jamaica, Queens, where she champions the values of kindness, courage, collaboration, and social justice. Her journey from science teacher at Success Academy to beloved 1st grade teacher at Community Roots Charter School shows her deep commitment to students at every level. With an M.Ed. in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education and experience as a Leadership Resident in Boston Public Schools, Tomi brings rich expertise in equity and inclusion. She joined the GUGCS community in 2021, drawn to its diverse faculty and families who share her passion for social justice.
Tonya Randall: VP of Academics, Journey Community Schools
With over two decades of educational leadership experience, Tonya brings incredible expertise in driving transformational change—including an impressive 28% increase in K–8 reading proficiency and 27% gain in math at Journey Community Schools this past year. From founding Nexus STEM Academy to securing $1.5M+ in grants for innovation and summer learning, Tonya’s commitment to historically underserved students shines through everything she does. Her background spans KIPP schools, instructional coaching, and data-driven leadership, with degrees from Spelman College and Walden University.
Sabrina Banwait: Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Hebrew Public Schools
Sabrina brings over 13 years of transformative leadership across Chicago, Los Angeles, and NYC urban schools. From classroom teacher to instructional leader, Sabrina’s journey reflects her unwavering commitment to equity and social justice. As a proud alum of the University of Chicago’s Urban Teacher Education Program, she continues to champion culturally responsive pedagogy and teacher preparation. Sabrina’s expertise in instructional design and leadership development centers on building capacity through coaching and collaboration. Her work with school leaders and teacher teams exemplifies her belief in public education’s power to create lasting, multigenerational change.
Dr. Keena Day: Chief Academic Officer, Breakthrough Schools
Dr. Keena Day is a 20-year literacy specialist who leads school districts, networks, and school leadership to develop systems in curriculum and assessment design to improve student achievement. As Chief Academic Officer of Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland, she is skilled in grades 4-12, AP Language and AP Literature coursework that allows for equitable access, dual enrollment, and literacy intervention. She has taught Freshman Composition, Technical and Creative Writing at the collegiate level. Her Masters programming focused on Africana Studies and Black Literature, Linguistics, Literacy, and Writing. Her research focuses on integration of literacy and social studies content, cultural studies in schools, DEI in text selection, organizational literacy structures, and closing the literacy achievement gap for various demographics of students.
Meet Our Facilitator: Erica Murphy
Leading this incredible cohort is Erica Murphy, who brings deep expertise in academic leadership development. In addition to facilitating the CAO cohort, Erica has spent five years with Hendy Avenue Consulting supporting school systems and charter management organizations nationwide on academic strategy, AI literacy, coaching to academic excellence, mathematics instruction, performance evaluation rubrics, and more.
Erica creates spaces where CAOs can push each other to excel, share best practices, and build lasting professional relationships. Under her guidance, our cohort members will tackle real challenges, exchange valuable resources, and strengthen their commitment to achieving stellar academic outcomes for students.
What Makes The CAO Cohort Special
Our Chief Academic Officer Cohort brings academic leaders together to learn alongside trusted colleagues in similar roles. Through the cohort, members sharpen their vision, build their skills, exchange resources, problem solve, build relationships, and feel more fulfilled in their roles.
This dynamic group represents some of the most innovative academic minds in charter education, united by their commitment to educational equity and their dedication to driving meaningful change in their networks.
Interested in learning more about how CAO cohort participation can level up the leadership and impact of your senior academic leaders? Ready to explore leadership development opportunities? Connect with Hendy Avenue Consulting about leadership coaching, CAO cohort participation for 2026-27, and additional opportunities to partner for just-in-time support to your organization.
Announcing the 25-26 DEEL Cohort!
Last fall, Hendy launched the District Educator Effectiveness Leader (DEEL Cohort) – an opportunity for senior-level leaders in large public school districts responsible for employee effectiveness initiatives. The cohort was so successful that we are launching for the second year this September! The DEEL builds on Hendy’s success at facilitating cohorts for charter-network leaders, and extends that opportunity to leaders from traditional public school districts. The cohort includes a group of leaders from districts across the country, who collectively are responsible for performance management and effectiveness initiatives for tens of thousands of employees. Join us in congratulating the 2025-26 DEEL cohort participants!
- Tori Austin from San Antonio Independent School District
- Amber Daniel from Houston Independent School District
- Michael Herring from Chicago Public Schools
- Chrishele Kingdom from Detroit Public Schools Community District
- Charity Magruder from Prince George’s County Public Schools
- Jesse Papia from Baltimore City Public Schools
- Richel Raich-Cantu from IDEA Public Schools
- Yolanda Stanislaus from Montgomery County Public Schools
- Tiffany Suggs from Gwinnett County Public Schools
The 25-26 cohort will begin meeting in September. We look forward to sharing what we learn! Interested in joining the DEEL cohort, or want more information? Visit our website or check out this information sheet. Ready to participate? Contact Jessica.
The CAO Cohort: Where Vision Meets Action
In education leadership, the role of Chief Academic Officer stands at a critical intersection: where strategic vision meets daily implementation, where data meets human experience, and where individual school success connects to systemic change. Yet too often, CAOs navigate these challenges in isolation.
A Different Kind of Professional Community
The CAO Cohort breaks this isolation by bringing together academic leaders from high-performing charter networks who share an unwavering commitment to educational equity. This isn’t just another professional development program – it’s a carefully curated community where every member brings both expertise to share and a willingness to grow.
What Sets Our Members Apart
Our cohort members share core values that drive their work:
- They embrace the power of partnership, recognizing that collective wisdom surpasses individual insight.
- They maintain the flexibility to adapt their thinking while staying true to their core mission.
- They welcome productive friction, knowing that growth comes from being both challenged and supported.
- They freely share their resources and best practices, lifting all boats in the pursuit of excellence.
Real Impact Through Structured Collaboration
Throughout the year, cohort members engage in:
- Regular data review cycles that inform strategic planning
- Collaborative problem-solving around shared challenges
- Resource exchange that accelerates implementation
- Deep discussions about equity and anti-racist practices
- Strategic planning sessions for systematic improvement
Beyond Professional Development
What truly distinguishes this cohort is its impact beyond individual growth. When CAOs collaborate at this level, their insights and solutions ripple across multiple school networks, potentially impacting thousands of students’ lives.
Join a Community of Change-Makers
The CAO Cohort isn’t just about professional growth – it’s about joining a movement of leaders committed to transforming education through collaboration, equity, and excellence. If you’re ready to both contribute to and learn from a community of visionary academic leaders, we invite you to learn more about joining our next cohort.
The Power of Cohorts
In today’s complex educational landscape, leadership can feel isolating. Whether you’re a Chief Academic Officer driving instructional excellence, a Superintendent exploring AI implementation, or a CTE leader shaping career pathways, the challenges you face are unique to your role—and often, you’re the only person in your organization navigating them.
At Hendy Avenue Consulting, we’ve witnessed firsthand how cohort learning transforms educational leadership. Our experience has shown that the most powerful professional growth happens when leaders come together in structured, purposeful communities.
Why Cohort Learning Works
The power of cohort learning lies in its fundamental truth: leaders need other leaders. When we bring together diverse talent in similar roles, something remarkable happens. Challenges that seemed insurmountable become opportunities for collective problem-solving. Individual expertise becomes shared wisdom. And perhaps most importantly, professional isolation transforms into lasting community. From adaptive leadership skill-building to tactical strategic planning to navigating change within an organization or across the broader educational sector, our cohorts aim to create space for thoughtful engagement and planning for leaders. We currently facilitate four distinctive cohort experiences, each designed to address specific leadership needs in education:
Chief Academic Officer Cohort: For CAOs in high-performing charter networks, this cohort creates a space where academic leaders can sharpen their vision and deepen their impact. Members engage in data-driven discussions, share remediation strategies, and collaborate on achieving equitable outcomes for all students.
AI Explorers Cohort: In partnership with AI for Equity, this nationwide community of practice supports senior executives as they navigate the AI revolution in education. Participants collaborate on everything from organizational planning to product evaluation, ensuring thoughtful and equitable AI implementation in their systems.
Career & Technical Education Group: Tailored for New York state CTE leaders, this program combines strategic planning with practical leadership development. Whether you’re a principal, assistant principal, or district director, you’ll find a community dedicated to advancing career and technical education.
District Educator Effectiveness Leader Cohort: Created for senior talent leaders in large public school districts, this cohort addresses the unique challenges of managing educator effectiveness initiatives at scale. Members find crucial thought partnership among peers who understand the complexities of their role.
The Hendy Approach to Cohort Learning
What makes our cohorts different? We believe effective cohort learning combines:
- Structured learning with organic relationship-building and thought partnership
- Immediate problem-solving with long-term strategic thinking
- Individual growth with collective wisdom
- Theory with practical application
Join Our Community
Educational leadership doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. Whether you’re looking to enhance your leadership, tackle complex challenges, or find a community of fellow leaders, our cohorts offer a proven path forward.
Interested in learning more? Explore our Cohorts page and discover how collaborative learning can transform your leadership journey.