Reimagining Education in Harlem: Community School District 5 Superintendent Sean L. Davenport
Superintendent Davenport reflected on his path in education and shared what he envisions for the future of District 5.
Harlem Community School District 5 Superintendent Sean L. Davenport's deeply rooted passion for education stems from a storied journey of self-discovery and service. Growing up, he rarely saw himself reflected in his learning environments, from the pages of his textbooks to the people he was surrounded by. The disenchantment with his coming-of-age classroom experiences caused Davenport to distance himself from the thought of ever pursuing a career in education, however, the call for youth empowerment followed him at every turn.
Now, sitting at the helm of Harlem's District 5—a collective of 23 schools throughout Central Harlem and Morningside Heights—Davenport is cultivating culturally responsive learning spaces where local youth can feel seen, heard, and celebrated; schools that center the neighborhood's rich history and empower young scholars to be active participants in building its future.
Columbia Neighbors spoke with Davenport—a proud Norfolk State University alum—about his path in the education space, his foundational contributions to Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School, engaging the local community through education, and his key priorities and vision for District 5.
What led you toward a path within the education space?
Within my family education was important, but it had levels. My parents tried to provide me with the best opportunities, but the standard was simply being present at school and getting good grades with no real push or force beyond that.
My father, an educator, had a college degree, and I had other college-educated family members. However, although there were examples of academic achievement, there was still an onus to create your own path.
Although my father was a teacher, I didn’t envision following in his footsteps. It was my aunt, who was like a mother figure to me, who emphasized the importance of education. Through exposing me to different opportunities and pathways, I was able to build a sense of educational fortitude.
During my formative years, she introduced me to the idea that there’s a whole world out there. It inspired me to go to college; a step I didn’t initially see for myself. She brought me into environments where other people were focused on advancing their education, so naturally, it motivated me to do the same.
I was a mass communications major in college. During my undergraduate years, in my free time, I found myself supporting youth empowerment projects. I was part of my fraternity’s volunteer program at Norfolk State University, I worked at an after-school program, and on the weekends I worked at a local YMCA assisting with its youth sports program. The things I initially thought I wasn’t interested in, I ended up gravitating toward without realizing it at first.
How did your childhood classroom experiences shape your perspective on education?
Honestly, growing up, I didn’t really like school because I felt like it wasn’t designed for me. My mother made a point of ensuring I was enrolled in predominately white schools because from her perspective these institutions had better learning opportunities and resources. I experienced the weight of being in an environment and atmosphere where I oftentimes was the only Black student. No matter what I may have tried to do to coexist, I was always reminded of my race. I had to learn how to adapt to these situations.
I had some good teachers throughout the years, but there was a lack of connection. It wasn’t that they didn’t try, but I couldn’t connect because I didn’t like my learning environment. For me, school became something I had to do. There was never really any excitement associated with it. As I embarked on my journey in education, I knew what I didn’t like about school growing up and I wanted to make sure I changed the narrative and tried to create an environment where kids would want to come learn.
You founded the Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School in 2005. What inspired you to launch the school in Harlem specifically? What gap did you see within the local education space that you believed needed to be filled?
Reverend Calvin Otis Butts III—the late longtime pastor of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem—was very instrumental in my life and helped shape my career. He was the founder of the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change. He knew I was working in education and wanted me to lead the feeder school for Thurgood Marshall Academy.
I was a high school teacher at the time and wasn’t sure if I wanted to pivot and work with younger children. I had coached youth sports, but serving as a principal was a different level of commitment. I was considering leaving teaching behind or possibly working at the collegiate level. Rev. Butts was very influential and persuasive. I leaned on my faith to empower me to move forward with this opportunity.
His vision was to have a school where everyone in our community could be involved, educated, and not discriminated against. A space where Black and brown boys and girls can go to and be proud of themselves and immersed in a curriculum that speaks to who they are. We worked on building out his vision and opened Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School.
It was a defining moment for me in finding purpose. Rev. Butts was someone who saw my potential, believed I needed to stay in education, and helped me align with that vision. He was instrumental in helping me see the bigger picture of the work that needed to be done.
Stepping into this position didn’t come without challenges. Some people didn’t think I was the right person for the job, but that motivated me because when people doubt you, you put a little more energy into it to ensure what you’re doing is successful. I also used my past experiences to inform how I would lead.
After working at both Thurgood Marshall Academy schools for over a decade collectively, you stepped down and came back to District 5 as Superintendent in 2022. What inspired your return?
Unfinished business. I never really wanted to leave Thurgood Marshall Academy, but there’s so much work that goes into building a school from the ground up. In the early stages, you’re pretty much responsible for doing everything. I had a great team of people, but I didn’t have an assistant principal so I was expected to be present at every event.
After my work at the lower school, I became the principal at the high school. Collectively, I worked at both schools for 13 years and I realized I needed to prioritize my health and spend some time away. I wasn’t taking care of myself because I was focused on work. I needed to reclaim myself. As I was going through that process, the opportunity to return arose.
As I got the chance to go around New York City and see the disparities of education within one city—going even further within one borough—it was troubling. I started questioning whether I did enough as a principal.
When I was working within District 5, I never really looked outside of my immediate surroundings because I was so engaged in trying to enhance the learning experiences for students within Thurgood Marshall Academy. There were times in my role when I got frustrated because the goals and aspirations I envisioned for the students sometimes exceeded their families. There were times when I felt like I was giving energy that wasn’t being matched, which was defeating.
Despite it all, I realized I needed to be doing something different within my own community. When this opportunity to serve as the superintendent of Harlem Community School District 5, I saw it as a chance to help change the mindsets of families and speak to the greatness of Harlem through education. Coming back, my message was to let the kids know how great they are and where they live is probably the most important community in the whole wide world.
I saw it as a chance to help change the mindsets of families and speak to the greatness of Harlem through education.
Can you talk about the importance of taking a holistic approach to education and implementing culturally responsive curricula?
The culturally responsive approach started within the Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School. When we first opened, I noticed some of the young boys in my school had low self-esteem. They might not have realized it, but you could tell they lacked confidence through small actions like not looking people in the eye when talking to them.
One of the first things our team tried as a way to build confidence in our students was to teach them poetry by writers from the Harlem Renaissance. The first poem was ‘Harlem’ by Langston Hughes. Once they memorized the poem, you could see a sense of accomplishment and pride among our students. It brought them joy.
We also had an educator named Dr. Dawn Brooks-DeCosta, now our Deputy Superintendent, who empowered our students through the visual arts and decorated the school hallways with their work.
From that point on, we refocused our commitment to building a culturally responsive curriculum with a specific focus on literacy through the arts. We wanted to include local elements so our students could feel connected to the lessons, so we focused on the historical aspects of Harlem through the Renaissance and Great Migration period.
If we were going to teach them about George Washington, they’d have to learn about Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. We also introduced them to Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series. We would take the students to local museums, and they’d understand the deeper meaning behind the artwork.
Legendary artist Faith Ringgold adopted the school, worked with students on their artwork, and would host garden parties in Harlem to celebrate what they created. Our classrooms were named after Black luminaries, similar to the streets of Harlem.
The kids were thriving, and the parents were inspired. We became a culturally responsive school before it was popular to be one. We were unapologetic about the curriculum. We fought hard for a Black studies-focused curriculum in every school because no one should be without it. I believe everyone’s culture should be celebrated through education, but since we’re in Harlem we wanted to focus on this neighborhood’s rich history.
How are you using District 5’s town halls to engage the local community? Why is it crucial to have their input in what’s being taught in the classrooms?
The first town hall we hosted was in February, and it was called "State of the District." I didn’t expect a large turnout because when I worked for the district in the past, there wasn’t a large attendance at these types of events. My team told me to think bigger, and my mentor Dr. Sandye Johnson—the founding principal of Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change—encouraged me to expand my vision for the event. To my surprise, we sold out and had over 400 people attend, which showed a true investment in the future of the district.
The conversations were about coming together to assess where we were as a district and where we needed to be, with a focus on improvement around our students’ reading and math levels. We discussed solutions around how to better support parents, teachers, and students.
We know there’s greatness within our students, how do we get them to bring it out in the classroom? With my experiences as a teacher, principal, and now a superintendent, these were all issues that I could bring a truthful and unique perspective to.
The town hall was an opportunity for transparency and a call that we can’t accept mediocracy when it comes to education in Harlem. It was all about community that day. From the parents to the principals, we want to work together to ensure the students within our district have the best opportunities.
The town hall was an opportunity for transparency and a call that we can’t accept mediocracy when it comes to education in Harlem.
What are your key priorities and vision for District 5 as we’ve entered this new school year?
One of the key priorities is improving literacy. We have a 40 percent literacy rate right now—one of the highest percentages the district has seen—but we need to continue to move that number forward.
We want to help our students grow in the arts and STEM by adding more learning resources to the classrooms. We’re leading this through our MECCA framework, which stands for mindfulness, excellence, capacity building, collaboration, and action. We also want to ensure our teachers are getting the training, support, and resources they need to be successful and our principals are supported so they can better support their teachers.
Most importantly, we want to ensure our kids graduate high school with opportunities in higher education or the workforce. We want them to go to the colleges and universities of their choice. We want to make sure they can communicate, advocate for themselves, and fight to be seen and heard within the greater society. We want them to be viable citizens and civically engaged. We want them to be the best versions of themselves, and that comes with holistic education.
Harlem is on the rise.