Andre Perry

Consultant, A.M. Perry Consulting

Andre Perry is an education leader, author and advisor to people working to improve education in K-12 and postsecondary institutions.

In 2013, Dr. Andre Perry became the Founding Dean of Urban Education at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Perry launched Davenport’s new College of Urban Education and created its Master of Urban Education Program. The innovative teacher-training program focuses on student learning, prepares content experts in clinical settings and measures progress based on data.

Prior to, he was the Associate Director for Educational Initiatives for the Loyola Institute for Quality and Equity in Education. Dr. Perry created academic and enrichment opportunities for Loyola University as well as for primary and secondary students in the metro area.

Before Loyola, he served as the CEO of the Capital One-University of New Orleans Charter Network, which was comprised of four charter schools in New Orleans. During that stint, Perry served on Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu’s Transition Team as the co-chair of the Education Taskforce.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Perry earned his Ph.D. in education policy and leadership from the University of Maryland College Park. His research and teaching interests are college access and retention, charter schools and immigrant educational rights. In 2011, UNO Press released his book, The Garden Path: The Miseducation of the City. Perry used non-fiction narrative to illustrate the real life tensions involved in post-Katrina education reform in New Orleans.

Perry’s scholarship focuses education reform and the impact of education policy on community wellness. Perry co-authored the chapter Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons from the U.S. Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita published on Brookings Institution Press. He also co-authored the chapter Between Public and Private: Politics, Governance, and the New Portfolio Models for Urban School Reform published on Harvard University Press. Along with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Perry co-authored the report, PLACE MATTERS for Health in Orleans Parish: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All.

As a public intellectual, he advocates for quality public education. Dr. Perry is a columnist for the Washington Post-PostEverthing section and The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization focused on producing in-depth education journalism. Perry’s views, opinions and educational leadership have been featured on NBC, National Public Radio, Al Jazeera America, The New Republic and CNN. Perry contributed to the CNN specials Race and Justice in America: Hidden Bias as well as Bullying: No Escape, both hosted by Anderson Cooper. He contributed to NBC’s Education Nation as a featured panelist. He has also been a guest on Roland Martin’s Washington Watch on TVOne, Jane Velez-Mitchell on HLN as well as numerous appearances on CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates.

For almost a decade, he penned a newspaper column in The Louisiana Weekly. The column provided political commentary on municipal governments and K-16 leadership in Louisiana. During the same period, Perry provided commentary for the NPR affiliate, WWNO 89.9-FM, during NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

Perry has spoken at numerous national events including: The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, Essence Festival, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the National Urban League Annual Conference.

In 2008 he was selected as an Effective Leaders Fellow by Duke University’s Center for Leadership and Public Values. Fully immersed in the city’s recovery efforts, Perry served on the boards of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, WYES Public Television, WWNO-FM, and Young Audiences-Arts for Learning. His community-based efforts earned him accolades and acclaim. Andre Perry received the Kappa Alpha Psi Distinguished Citizen Award in 2011. He also received St. Charles Avenue Magazine’s 2008 Unsung Hero of the Year Award. New Orleans Magazine selected Dr. Perry as a “Person to Watch.” In 2009, Gambit Weekly named Perry to its “40 under 40”. In October of 2011, NBC Affiliate, WDSU Channel 6 aired the award winning documentary, “Close Ties: Tying on a New Tradition,” which features Dr. Perry and Wilbert “Chill” Wilson’s efforts to prevent criminal activity among at-risk youth. In 2012, Dr. Perry was named team lead for Orleans PLACE MATTERS, a national project of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. - See more at: http://www.drandreperry.com/bio#sthash.0oYrJ5CU.dpuf