Distinguished New Leaders

Jarvis Sanford

New Leader, Cohort 2
Principal
Dodge Renaissance Academy
Chicago, Illinois

"The greatest benefit for me was the camaraderie and the willingness of the entire New Leaders community to tackle challenges that face urban schools and help students who have for centuries been left out."

Dodge Renaissance Academy

Highest gaining school in the state of Illinois from 2005-2006
Largest one-year test score gains in the state in 2006
33% math gain and 26% ELA gain from 2004-2006; Dodge doubled its math proficiency rate to 67% and nearly doubled its ELA rate to 57%

Jarvis remembers the day he first heard about the New Leaders training program. "I had a colleague when I was teaching who brought me an article and said, 'I think this would be perfect for you.'" The article immediately sparked his interest, and Jarvis decided to learn more about the program and submit an application.

"I think what makes the New Leaders program overall one of the best principal preparation programs is its ability to help urban principals with the rigors and the ultimate challenges they will face when going into an urban school," Jarvis said.

When you hear the amazing accomplishments of Dodge Renaissance Academy, it is hard to believe that, before Jarvis arrived, the school was once shut down due to low performance. With hard work, determination, and support from a community of individuals who believed their children could learn, the school made dramatic improvements. Jarvis uses the skills he gained as a New Leader to prove that student achievement not only helps each student succeed but adds to the betterment of the community as a whole. “My desire is to see transformational change for the whole school, versus the change that I was seeing just in my classroom,” Jarvis explained.

He highlights interim assessments and interaction with fellow residents and coaches as the key benefits of his New Leaders training. By using interim assessments to help inform instruction, the school culture moved from reactive to proactive. The support from his cohort as well coaches and the entire office staff allows Jarvis and fellow urban school principals to, in his words, “learn best practices and turn around our most failed schools.” He embraces the opportunity to interact with individuals who share the passion, commitment, and desire to make a lasting impact in the lives of children through education.

"One of the real rewarding things about our New Leaders community is that, on a number of occasions, our community members have come and sought to find out what exactly we do at Dodge," said Jarvis. "But in addition to that, we’ve had many others who have sought to understand the role that we play in this community to help change the community as well as the students."

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