Dr. Cheryl Pruitt, superintendent in residence at Pathways to College and native of Gary (Indiana), was a speaker at TEDxGary 2024. Her talk was titled, “Inspired to Lead: Authenticity, Accountability, and the Power to Transform.”
While serving as superintendent of the Gary Community School Corporation, Dr. Pruitt made the Pathways to College after-school program an integral part of the school district’s strategic plan.
“The collaborative development of ‘The Courageous Plan to Transform the Gary Schools’ in 2014-2015 was a transformative initiative,” said Dr. Pruitt. “This strategic plan led to a 34% increase in graduation rates at its peak during my tenure, an 18.9% rise in literacy scores within two years, and consistently improved attendance, with significantly reduced dropout rates. In 2017, our efforts culminated in literacy rates that surpassed state averages—a true reflection of our resilience, determination, and community-driven excellence.”
Dr. Pruitt continued, “Leadership is evolutionary. It’s carried by the stream of new inputs and expected output. As leaders, we’re one of the biggest components of the stream of expectations. I’ve chosen to work in some of the toughest environments with the highest stakes. I’ve outperformed everyone else who has sat in the seats I have, and it’s based on one preliminary philosophy: I’ve only joined organizations where I’m inspired by the people around me. Real leadership is authentic. Real leadership embraces accountability. And we need real, bold leadership to tackle some of the biggest challenges we’ve ever seen. Let’s innovate and let’s work!”
Dr. Pruitt has spent decades dedicated to dismantling systems of inequity for marginalized communities and vulnerable populations in the fields of education and science, as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, teacher, and researcher. Her “Data Driven Decision Making and the School Administrator” research has been used across the country to create impactful alternative learning pathways for Black children.
Since its founding in 2003, while only 30% of students enter Pathways to College having been identified as “high achieving,” 100% of graduating Scholars earn college acceptance and 90% enter college.
TEDxGary 2024 took place on Saturday, October 5, 2024, in Savannah Hall at Indiana University Northwest. In its seventh year of presenting “ideas worth spreading,” the event focused on the theme, “Deferred Not Denied.”
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Contact: Alyssa Alston, Director of Communications | communications@pathwaystocollege.org | 202-924-1691
Pathways to College is an after-school program providing information, guidance and support to help African American and other students of color become the best high school students, college applicants and college students they can be to prepare for lifelong success. Although we welcome all students of color, we focus on under-served African American high school students, whose potential has been marginalized for generations.