Yasmeen Robbins once served as an intern for Dr. Mary Hemphill. Now, they’re partners in a new venture that aims to change the way people talk and think about public education in North Carolina.
The duo created Rebrand NC Education in November 2017, but the effort was federally certified as a nonprofit organization this past August. The project hopes to provide North Carolina school leaders with a digital platform that will serve as a resource for professional development and a collection of best practices from across the state. Hemphill is principal of Carver Middle School while Robbins is an assistant principal at Terry Sanford High School, so both have a real-world understanding of what it’s like to be a school leader in NC.
We sat down with Hemphill and Robbins to get a better idea of what their organization is all about:
By sharing the stories of what is working well for school leaders, Hemphill and Robbins hope to change the narrative around education in our state. Too often, they say, a focus on more negative stories means we the miss the great things that are happening in schools.
“There are school leaders who are doing things differently that we don’t hear about,” Robbins said, “especially across counties.”
Rebrand NC Education also hosts Shifting the Conversation, a listening session series where school leaders and teachers are encouraged to share their successes and hardships with likeminded individuals.
The next Shifting the Conversation event is planned for Feb. 23, 2019, at Duke University.
