Michelle Pierre-Farid

Principal of Tyler Elementary School, Mrs. Pierre-Farid was a member of the inaugural New Leaders for New Schools cohort in 2003-04. Tyler Elementary School was one of the lowest-performing schools in Washington, D.C., and its Capital Hill community had essentially abandoned the school. In just 2 years, she has dramatically improved the school and community. Her transformation of Tyler has been noted by the district and other important constituencies in the city.

In November 2006, Tyler was selected as part of DC Voice's “Out-of-the-Box: Site Visits to Schools that Work” series which provided opportunities for parents and community members to see high-performing, high-poverty schools. She was able to increase reading achievement by 40 percentage points, over 50 percentage points of the special education population was proficient, and last but not least math achievement was increased by 20 percentage points over a three-year span of time. Mrs. Pierre-Farid is making strides toward high performance with activities as varied as raising the daily attendance rates to having boarded windows replaced with sun to shine in on the students. She says, “Education is of the foremost importance because it does not only change the life but a community."

Mrs. Pierre-Farid graduated from Adelphi University. She then taught fifth grade in New York City Public Schools. After leaving New York, she taught in Maryland where she received her Advanced Professional Certificate. Next she earned a master’s degree from Towson University in human resource development on the Educational Leadership track in addition to earning a MSA from Trinity University. Mrs. Pierre-Farid’s work has been highlighted in the Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, the Hill Rag and on the Education Channel. Mrs. Pierre-Farid came to New Leaders with a guiding belief that to enrich communities you must set standards of excellence for all children to achieve.