Greater Grand Rapids
Practice Makes Possible
Leading Educators supports a network of schools across Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan, with strategic instructional support.
Beginning in 2017 as a school team fellowship focused on bolstering content expertise, the partnership has evolved into contextualized scopes that help local school systems build capacity for enduring progress across schools.
Growing Leadership
This approach is the backbone of an ambitious strategy to significantly increase academic achievement among economically disadvantaged students who attend the nearly 120 district, charter, and religious schools in the Greater Grand Rapids urban area.
This work uses the greatest asset within Grand Rapids’ urban schools—experienced educators—by supporting up to 300 teacher leaders along with their principals and district administrators.
By The Numbers
An inaugural cohort of principals and teacher leaders began development in the summer of 2017 to bolster their content knowledge and instructional leadership skills.
10 schools
supported with teacher leadership and curriculum-based professional learning across four area school districts.
116 educators
supported this year with development in grade-level content knowledge and equitable practice.
5,335 students
served this year through direct instructional work.
10 schools
supported with teacher leadership and curriculum-based professional learning across four area school districts.
116 educators
supported this year with development in grade-level content knowledge and equitable practice.
5,335 students
served this year through direct instructional work.
Meet the Team
Dr. Keli Swearingen
Dr. Michelle Brown
About Dr. Keli Swearingen
Keli is an accomplished educational strategist, administrator, and researcher with an action-oriented approach to her work. Keli’s academic background is complemented by over a decade of practical experience in high-impact national education organizations, focusing on the intersection of teacher quality, data analysis, and effective school leadership and policy.
Keli's professional work is centered on building systems and capacity for effective instruction, having held leadership roles such as Managing Director of Teaching and Learning for TEAM Schools (KIPP New Jersey) and Director of Assessment and Data-Driven Instruction at the KIPP Foundation. Roles where Keli was responsible for developing instructional coaching protocols and leadership development systems. Keli's research interests include variations in novice teacher and leader training, teacher and leader retention, and the effects of teacher and leader preparation and cultural sensitivity on academic performance in urban and rural education. Keli has presented this research at national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association, National Reading Conference, KIPP School Leader Programming, and Council of Great City Schools.
Dr. Keli Swearingen in the news
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Coaching isn't about fixing what's broken
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How Detroit is Building the Infrastructure and Habits to ‘Rise Up’
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Instructional Leader Success Demands Multi-Layer Support
About Dr. Michelle Brown
Before joining Leading Educators, Michelle was the Vice Principal of Academics at the New Orleans Charter Science and Math High School, the same school where she learned that teaching is the best career in the world. She was previously a teacher educator at Southeastern Louisiana University and the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP). She began her career in education as a high school English and reading teacher in New Orleans.
Michelle holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. Her graduate work focused on classroom observation and effective literacy practices in secondary ELA classrooms. She earned a B.A. from New College of Florida where she pursued a dual concentration in Literature and Hispanic Language and Literature.
