Through the Build Track of the BES Fellowship, Dr. LaTasha Adams is proposing to found a high school in Columbus, GA, her hometown. She has over two decades of experience working as an educator and administrator in both traditional public schools and public charter schools in Georgia, as well as working in higher education in the state. As a student in Muscogee County elementary, middle, and high schools, LaTasha was repeatedly tracked into lower levels. Were it not for her parents’ advocacy and fundamental belief that education could change her trajectory, LaTasha recognizes that her opportunities in life could have been far more limited. “My parents knew excellent schooling was one way to change the trajectory of my family for generations. They succeeded, and I want other children to have the opportunity to receive an excellent education and the ability to choose outcomes for their families.”
LaTasha is an equity-focused, innovative educational leader who fosters a culturally responsive, rigorous, and collaborative learning environment for all members of the school community to thrive in college, careers, and life. She proposes to dismantle oppressive systems that seek to marginalize and destroy the opportunities, access, and abilities of underserved youth and families. She is set apart by her resilience, agency, and hard work towards ensuring that all students have the opportunity to excel given their unique talents and abilities. To this end, she seeks to found a school that will focus on personalized, flexible learning. Design thinking will be utilized to help students explore solutions to complex community problems within a culturally responsive, inclusive school environment.
LaTasha is a tenured Associate Professor at Clayton State University, where she trains teachers with an equity lens. She founded Dominion Literacy, a nonprofit that focuses on family advocacy. Prior to this, LaTasha spent 20 years working in K-12 education as an administrator, teacher, curriculum specialist, and educational researcher. She received her B.A. in English from Spelman College and holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
