John B. King, who served as education secretary under former President Barack Obama and today is the chancellor of the State University of New York, has countless connections to education.
His mother was a guidance counselor in New York City, and his father was a teacher, the first Black principal in Brooklyn, and the city’s first Black deputy schools chief. But the most foundational connection he forged to the field was as a student. Teachers created a space that was “safe, compelling, and nurturing” after he lost both parents during childhood, he said in an exclusive interview with Education Week.
Here, he shares his thoughts on the importance of creating those safe spaces as so many students with trauma enter school buildings, and offers tangible ideas for making that happen.
