Congratulations to our High School Principal, Mr. Eric Tabb! Mr. Tabb was recently honored at The Tuxedo 7!
Hosted by our very own Mr. Wyatt Jackson, The Tuxedo 7 honors seven men of color who are impacting society in positive ways. Other honorees included Michael Curry, Paul Goodnight, Imari Paris Jeffries, Conan Harris, Rev. Carrington Moore, and Min. Kendall Ramseur.
Read his full acceptance speech below.
I’m extremely honored to be a part of this extraordinarily handsome group of men dressed in our tuxedos.
First I want us to take a moment of silence for Jason Murray. He was killed Friday night. Jason and I weren’t close friends but he gave back to the community, he’s ref’d games at my school, and donated Gatorade to many different programs that supported our children. I start with that because this is where my anger motivates me to do the work that I do each and every day. This senseless act is one of the many that has affected me throughout my life.
I grew up in the south end before the south end became the south end of today. It was a tough area back then where there was a lot of violence, drugs, and absent fathers. I know now but I didn’t realize or recognize the state of my experience. The state of my trauma. It wasn’t normal. Getting shot at as a teenager is not normal. Having access to drugs and guns is not normal. I was lucky! I was lucky in the sense that I had an older brother that did all the things, so I didn’t have to do it.I was lucky that I met a group of friends in high school that opened my eyes to different opportunities. I was lucky that I had some teachers that saw more in me than just my grades. They saw Me, Eric Tabb, the whole human being.
I was lucky!
And so My vision is to inspire, provide opportunities, and protect our black and brown children. To inspire is to fill someone with the urge or ability to do or feel something. In thinking about inspiring our children, I think about the competing factors that they have to deal with on a daily basis. Our students are still at a disadvantage, even to this day. There are people that create a negative narrative about them just from the color of their skin or the way that they speak. And in today’s world, Social media adds another layer of complexity. Depending on how the student engages with it, it can either be helpful or harmful. So when I think about inspiring my students, I want them to see me as a model of what can be possible. A couple of days ago my student Franny said “ Mr. Tabb, I‘m proud of you. I remember when you were teaching me how to do the beep test, wearing your sneakers and sweats and now you’re the principal”. Although I’m still a work in progress, I try to inspire through action.
The second part of my vision is to provide opportunities. Being the leader of a school, you’re in unique position. You have the chance to move your school in a certain direction but there’s also the tension of making sure that you meet state mandates. This makes you prioritize strategically. One of my biggest priorities is to provide our students with greater opportunities and access to college and for career exploration. I brought in a guidance counselor that will meet with 9th and 10th graders to get them started in thinking about their pathway to graduation and beyond. I’ve connected with the national grid and other companies to come to the school and host an informational fair. We have also been able to bring back our college and career trips, where different groups of students visit a company on-site and learn more about what they do there. Each student this year will go to at least one college trip and one career trip, with the hope that next year, we can increase that to at least 2 college trips and 2 career trips.
The last part of my vision is to protect our students. This one is very important to me. Protect them in every sense of the word. After having a really challenging school year last year, I want our students to feel safe, productive, and known. First, we want them to feel physically safe in the building. Creating that environment starts with making sure each student has a trusted adult in the building as an ally.
As our teachers create lesson plans the one guiding question that is on their minds is “Is this work worthy of our students’ brilliance?” Because our black and brown students are brilliant. That also looks like having a culturally responsive curriculum. We need our students to see themselves in the curriculum and in what they’re learning. We work to ensure that different scaffolds and supports are embedded in the day-to-day so that all students can succeed. All students do not learn the same, and it is our mission to meet the needs of all learners. This will help our students feel safe, productive, and known.
One of my favorite quotes is: “Be who you needed when you were younger” - Ayesha Siddiqi
This quote really resonates with me because I feel that I was lucky. And in thinking about our students, I don’t want it to be that they were lucky! I don’t want it to be that they were lucky to get into an exam school or that were lucky because both of their parents went to and graduated from college. I want all of our students to have the resources and supports they need to succeed. So part of the plan is to create and provide those resources and supports for our students. And that starts with me. I will continue to be a resource and support for our students but also make connections in order to provide our students with whatever they need.
As I said at the beginning, I’m honored to be here and I’m so inspired by each and everyone of these men. Let’s continue to be who we needed when we were younger and help inspire the next generation of Tuxedo 7.
Thank you Wyatt for the opportunity and thank you all for giving me your time.