Dr. Steve Perry Interview

If you’ve ever seen him on CNN, listened to him on talk radio, or read any of his tweets on Twitter, then you’ve already gotten a glimpse of how Dr. Perry pushes the envelope. Whether it’s about teachers unions, the failing school systems, or his ideas on modern education and exploring the universe, he’s been know to ruffle a few feathers and get your attention.

Teachers of Color: Could tell our readers a little bit about your background, and why you decided to start Capital Preparatory Magnet School?

Dr. Perry: I was called to do it.  I have seen first hand how education can change a person’s life and I want to use it as a tool to change people’s lives. We opened a school that is essentially a social service agency that delivers education. 

Teachers of Color: How was the Capital Prep Magnet School founded and why was it founded?

Dr. Perry: It was part of a desegregation case, but I had been looking to start a school for a couple of years. I was tired of seeing our children languishing in raggedy schools, so we started a school.

Teachers of Color: How do you measure success at your school?

Dr. Perry: Our success is measured by whether our kids get into college. Also, the way kids feel about education is very important to us.  The fact that they learn to love education and they learn to love themselves.

Teachers of Color: How do you select the students for enrollment at Capital Prep?

Dr. Perry: It’s by lottery. Many people think we just go out and select the cream of the crop. We don’t. We can’t. We get over 2,000 applications every year from kids who live in some of the worst neighborhoods in the state. In the country. That’s the pool we select from. We take kids as they are and where they are, and we turn them into what we believe they should be.

Teachers of Color: What are some of the issues you find yourself dealing with in running a school?

Dr. Perry: The primary issue is making a modern educational experience that has extended days and is year round. And, of course the ‘old school’ union.

Teachers of Color: You’ve often said the Teacher’s Union is the biggest challenge. Why is that, and do you think a new teacher should consider joining the union?

Dr. Perry: I think if you love children and you love education, you can’t join a teachers union because they are working literally against our children and our families and our communities.  Specifically, they fight every single form of school reform that there is.

Teachers of Color: What do you think is wrong with teacher unions? What do you say to our readers who support the ideology of unions?

Dr. Perry: What teacher unions do is guarantee people jobs regardless of what their actual contributions to the profession are. Young educators in training are going to lose their jobs to those teachers with tenure, or because their schools are failing and closes down.

Teachers of Color: How does that differ from your school and those who share your philosophy? How should it (the system) be?

Dr. Perry: How it should be is simply this.  It should be fully in vouchers.  I believe that we as a nation believe in vouchers.  We just don’t realize that always.

We believe in Section 8 which is a voucher.  We believe in food stamps which is a voucher.  Medicaid, Medicare both vouchers. Most importantly, as it relates to education, we believe in federal student financial aid which is what? A voucher.  A Pell Grant is a voucher.  It’s a federal voucher.

It says we will pay for your education up to  a specified amount. Based on your income. They will give you federal student financial aid.  This is expected for public and private schools.  So, I fully believe that our schools should be on a voucher system. But, the teachers unions are dead set against it even though every single parent in America wants to have the choice of where to send their child to school.

Teachers of Color: Right, but (Dr. Perry continues to say…)

Dr. Perry: Listen, there are some children, for instance, who don’t want to sit in a regular classroom.  They’re just not built for that. My thought is, if we had vouchers, that would allow them to learn in different schools throughout the country. In other communities.  What if it were a network of explorer schools throughout the country where the children could visit?  They could go from Harvard to New Haven, or from New Haven to Bridgeport, or from Bridgeport to New York City, right?  Trained, caring teachers would be with them, right.  What if we put them in a van that would take them somewhere outside of their community to learn.  Imagine how fired up those kids would be.

Teachers of Color: Great point.

Dr. Perry: That’s what you do with access to new schools.

Teachers of Color: I would like to have you talk a little bit about what you look for in teachers.  What are your expectations of the teachers you hired at Capital Prep?

Dr. Perry: Passion, and a love for kids.  I want to hear them use words like love.  I want to hear that their hobbies are doing things with kids.  That’s what I want to hear.

Teachers of Color: What about their background? What do you look for?

Dr. Perry: I don’t care what color they are. I don’t care what community they come from. I realized when I started this school that I needed to get good teachers regardless of their hue.  Everybody needs to understand that we owe it to our children to put the best teachers in front of them.

Teachers of Color: In looking back over the years, what have you found to have been Capital Prep’s teachers most successful traits and skills?

Dr. Perry: Determination and a true sense of competitiveness. A teacher who wants to do better and improve in every way.

Teachers of Color: Many of our readers are young, enthusiastic educators who are going into our communities to work in schools with high teacher turnover, and a high teacher burn out rate.  What can they do to keep this passion you speak of, and what can they do to continue to want to go out and make an impact and make a difference?

Dr. Perry: They need to work in a school that values excellence.  One of the reasons why teachers burn out is because they feel like they are the only ones pushing this big ball up the hill.  They must find a school that speaks to their heart.  They must find a school where the people want to be winners and where winning means doing whatever they have to.

Hey, if that school is a technical high school, then they better know how to build a building better than any human being on earth.  If that school is science high school, they better know more about science than any human beings on earth.  The school had better be the best or working toward being the best in the world at what they do.  And if that teacher is passionate, really passionate, they’ll make it.

Teachers of Color: Thank you Dr. Perry for your time and advice to our readers. TOC

Related Information:
Uncovering the “Secrets” of High Poverty, High Success Schools
Douglas B Reeves

Black Boys and Special Education – Change Is Needed!
By  Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

Experts Call for More Black Male Teachers 11/3/09