Board Member Joyce S. Wilkerson Was Nominated for the Green-Garner Award

Congratulations to Board Member Joyce S. Wilkerson, who was nominated for the Green-Garner Award, the nation’s top award in urban education leadership, sponsored by the Council of Great City Schools and Scholastic. The award is named in memory of urban school leaders Richard R. Green and Edward Garner.

Ms. Wilkerson, former President and current Member of the School District of Philadelphia Board of Education, is devoted to strengthening public education for all students by increasing learning opportunities for the children of Philadelphia. She has led the School District of Philadelphia in the nation’s poorest big city for the last seven years.

“Joyce Wilkerson is an extraordinary public servant who has devoted her life’s work to making Philadelphia, and especially the School District of Philadelphia, better for the nearly 200,000 students we serve across District-operated, charter and alternative schools,” said Board of Education President Reginald L. Streater, Esq.

Ms. Wilkerson’s tenure began in 2016 when she was appointed as Chair to the School Reform Commission (SRC), a forerunner to the Board of Education. Her most significant accomplishments on the SRC were to oversee the creation of a new teachers’ contract and to manage the return of the School District to local control. With the formation of the Board of Education in 2018, Ms. Wilkerson was immediately appointed to the School Board and then elected President by her peers. Ms. Wilkerson served as President until December 2022.

Board Member Wilkerson is a dedicated advocate for the children of Philadelphia to ensure all students are given an education that allows them to thrive, succeed and lead in a global society. She was instrumental in the Board adopting Goals and Guardrails, its five-year plan designed to significantly increase student achievement and provide the conditions needed in all schools to achieve academic goals.

A recent milestone under Ms. Wilkerson’s leadership was successfully conducting a nationwide search for a new Superintendent to lead this School District of nearly 200,000 District and charter school students. Ms. Wilkerson has also worked tirelessly with Board Members to advocate for fair funding of education in Philadelphia by the state and the city, the School District’s two main funding sources.