Lead from Within - Uncommon Schools

The Lead from Within Fellowship program at Uncommon Schools empowers Principals of Color who are early in their career with the knowledge and skills needed to sustain the work of leading strong schools.

Lead From Within Fellowship Cohort 22-23

Featured Fellow

Frankline Mardi

Frankline started off as a 6th grade History teacher at Roxbury Prep and rose in school leadership as principal of Roxbury Prep’s Dorchester Campus. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College where she studied History and Education. She is thrilled for the opportunity to continue to develop as a leader with Uncommon Schools.

"It is a real privilege to have 40 staff come to you for leadership and guidance constantly. Families look to me as the person they can bring their children to and to keep them safe and learning every day."

Dorchestor Reporter: Roxbury Prep’s Mardi relishes being a leader

Meet our fellows and mentors

Learn More

Hear from our fellows

We’re equipped with the strategies to be all we can be for our schools, and to show up each day for our students, our staff, and the families we serve.

Hear from a mentor

We’re not in this work alone. We have a village—a community of people who are likeminded, people who process things differently and offer different perspectives, but all are aligned in the goal and mission that we have.

Na'Jee Carter

Juliana Worrell

The lack of racial diversity within the principal workforce presents a significant opportunity gap. As I reflected on my own journey, it became clear to me that in order to narrow this gap, it will take intentional support, programming, and mentoring.

Transforming Principal Diversity: Uncommon Schools Lead from Within Fellowship Program Empowers Leaders of Color

Our Approach

Professional Development

Lead from Within sessions are not your typical professional development - we dive deep into core leadership competencies such as inspirational leadership, decision-making, and individual sustainability, while also confronting the narratives and challenges that leaders of color face across professions. Using a combination of frameworks derived from world-renowned schools of management, foundational texts rooted in lessons on leadership from people of color, and the experiences of successful senior school leaders of color, we equip fellows with the tools they need to run strong schools and bring about lasting change to the face of leadership in education.

Mentorship

Mentors within our program support the individual career and leadership development of each Lead from Within fellows. They bring years of experience as successful senior school leaders at Uncommon Schools to the role of coaching and thought-partnering with fellows around the day-to-day problem solving and decision making that goes into strong and sustainable school leadership.

Community

The sense of belonging to a lifelong cohort of fellows who are each committed to the success of every one of our schools is the cultural bedrock of the Lead from Within fellowship program. Cohorts build a strong sense of community wherein every fellow feels seen, heard, and valued for their unique talents and perspectives. Through each cohort, fellows are given numerous lifelines to other school leaders of color who are similarly positioned in their leadership and offer personal and professional support.

Lead from Within: Contact Us!

If you are or would like to nominate a Principal of Color in their 1st-3rd year of leadership, complete the form below to receive updates on the future of our program. For all other inquiries, please email leadfromwithin@uncommonschools.org.