Background
Akeshia Craven-Howell is a partner and the head of early childhood to career learning at Bellwether. She also leads efforts to enhance knowledge sharing and professional development for Bellwether’s experts.
Akeshia brings more than 15 years of leadership experience in large urban school systems, most recently serving as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ associate superintendent for student assignment and school choice in North Carolina. She led districtwide innovation, college and career readiness, and equitable access to high-quality learning. As a member of the superintendent’s cabinet, Akeshia was a key contributor to district strategy and performance management.
Since joining Bellwether, Akeshia has led the expansion of Bellwether’s work with traditional school districts — providing wide-ranging support on instructional practices, talent and staffing strategies, use of time, organizational effectiveness, department-specific strategic planning, and developing and executing an instructional vision, among other areas.
Akeshia also published a Bellwether blog series on the role of community and stakeholder engagement in strategic planning, the critical importance of annual planning and continuous improvement cycles to make progress against multi-year strategic plan goals, and the role of principal supervisors as a primary lever for translating central office strategies to schools and classrooms.
Prior to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Akeshia worked in Chicago Public Schools as a project manager for high school transformation, a senior manager in instructional leadership, a chief area officer for high schools, and an officer for pathways to college and career. Akeshia began her career working in engineering and consulting firms in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Evanston, Illinois. At The Alford Group in Evanston, she led consulting teams to provide strategy management and development solutions in the nonprofit sector.
Akeshia is an alumna of The Broad Superintendents Academy and The Broad Residency in Urban Education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Why I Do This Work
My parents were very young when I was born. Barely adults themselves, they, along with my grandmothers, made tremendous sacrifices to give me access to every opportunity they could, including high-quality schools. That foundation gave me choices they never had. I do this work to ensure that every student — particularly those without adults navigating opportunities on their behalf — has access to high-quality learning environments with adults who see them and support their success.
Focus Areas
Academic and Program Design and Improvement
District and Charter Systems and Governance
School Finance and Resource Allocation
Contact Information
akeshia.craven-howell@bellwether.org
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