Essence Caleb

Essence is a Senior Director for the KIPP Foundation and oversees planning and implementation to fulfill KIPP's mission. Previously, as the Executive Director of the Charter Schools Office for the School District of Philadelphia, she managed four teams responsible for authorizing the City’s brick-and-mortar charter schools. Essence began her tenure in K-12 education as a Teach for America corps member; she has taught ELA and served as an Assistant Principal and Director of Special Education. She has worked with The New Teacher Project and the Achievement Network to support efforts to eliminate the opportunity gap. Essence holds a certificate of strategic execution from Harvard University Business School Online and a certificate of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace. She has an M.S.T. from Fordham University, M.A. from Rutgers University, and graduated with a B.A. from Johnson C. Smith University. Essence is a Catalyst-School Systems Leader Fellow, Mellon Mays and Schomburg scholar, and a fellow of the Institute Recruitment of Teachers.