Improving life for both herself and her family has always been a primary focus for Dr. Garland Thomas-McDavid. It was a path that led from a rough upbringing in Brooklyn to teen motherhood, but eventually to education and a 20-plus-year career as an educator and being able to make a difference in the lives of her “work children” as well.
Thomas-McDavid, 47, serves as the CEO of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools, a tuition-free middle and high school founded in 2013, serving a majority of Black students with the aim of eliminating the achievement gap by preparing kids for college and providing tools to become leaders. Most of the students come from East New York and Brownsville.
This journey toward leadership was not easy, but the seeds were planted early in Thomas-McDavid’s life. She likes to say she is from “old Brooklyn” in the 1980s as she witnessed heavy drug usage, shootouts, and found herself at risk of sexual harassment and assault, all while commuting to and from school with her younger siblings.
“I think that growing up in East New York at that time made me adopt the mindset that I would not live very long. I never expected to live past 19,” Thomas-McDavid said. “You talk about the innocence of kids being stripped, we all knew what crack was. I don’t think my children know how to identify the drugs.”
However, Thomas-McDavid says she always knew she was gifted academically and was able to excel as her parents held the bar high for their children and were determined to make sure she had a quality education. She was part of the Free Choice program, which allowed her to go to schools in better and whiter neighborhoods, such as Bensonhurst. She remembers most times being the only Black girl in her classes and seeing the clear disparities compared to her neighborhood and also with the public schools her father taught at in their area. From this foundation, she was able to learn life lessons to apply later on and now tries to convey the same to students in their journey.
“I want them to experience all the things that made me successful, but also teach them that they’re being raised in an environment that is going to force [students] to have a higher awareness and consciousness of [their] existence,” Thomas-McDavid said.
“Tap into the fact that you’re a fighter. You know how to get home, tap into all of those lessons, because those lessons were just as important in my professional work as well,” she continued.
After the family relocated to Florida when she was a teenager, Thomas-McDavid says she began getting into trouble at school and in her personal life, as the rigor was no longer there in comparison to life growing up in Brooklyn. She had her first child at age 16 and left high school. During this rough period, Thomas-McDavid says having her daughter actually allowed her to have a clear purpose.
“It grounded me. It gave me a sense of purpose and helped me come back to myself before, before that, I didn’t really do school for anything but my dad,” Thomas-McDavid said. “I needed to set up for my daughter, and I needed to be a woman that she could look up to.”
Eventually, Thomas-McDavid was able to obtain her Associate’s Degree and High School Diploma through a specialized program, and later enrolled at the University of Florida, where she received her bachelor’s and later her master’s Degree. It was from an introductory college course where she says she first discovered education as a career choice, but says subconsciously she always knew it was the right path, remembering all the responsibilities she had in caring for her several brothers and sisters growing up. After graduating in 2002, with her husband and three kids, they moved to Chicago, where she began teaching and, after three years, became an assistant principal. She received her Ph.D from DePaul University in 2009.
Thomas-McDavid’s work in the charter school system began with the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Chicago. There, she saw how much better a vision for improving students’ lives could be manifested compared to traditional schools. “It just was like a young, energetic, determined movement to make a difference, prove the possible with the children,” she said.
She founded the Johnson College Prep high school in 2010, and later had her first CEO role in 2015 with Meridan Charter Schools. She began her consulting firm, Garland Leads, in 2020.
After being tapped to lead Brooklyn Lab, she returned home to the East Coast around 2021 and was intentional about helping the kids in the situations in which she grew up.
“It’s full circle. It’s where I grew up, and I’m helping kids who come from where I come from; look like me, and I’m having the opportunity to do it in excellence,” she said.
For juniors and seniors, there have been increases in their college preparatory work with more college visits, seminars, working on letters of recommendation and essays, and they are provided with awareness of schools beyond SUNY and CUNY, including more HBCUs.
“I’m not going to sell black and brown kids on anything, but college,” Thomas-McDavid said. She vehemently pushes back on those who claim a degree is not worth it for students in lower-income areas.
“Statistics are clear that black and brown children thrive better, even with some college versus none,” Thomas-McDavid continued. “I know that these kids can go to college and be successful, and I wish people would stop telling them that they can’t.”
Her children, Chenelle, Aliah, Kiah, Johnnie, and Elijah, ranging in age from 11 to 30, keep her busy and are a main source of pride. Two of her daughters are now teachers themselves. Thomas-McDavid is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, serves on the National Coalition for 100 Black Women Manhattan chapter, and spends time with her Black lab dog, Onyx. She plans on retiring at the school down the line, and wants to see all her kids, both real life and “work kids,” referring to students, come back and lead the school to keep the legacy going.
“When they come full circle, they will be doing what I’m doing, and they will care and shepherd the school in a different way.”
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Editor’s Note: Several items in this article have been corrected. These include references throughout correcting the name to Thomas-McDavid; a reference to her age; the year Johnson College Prep was founded; and other editing fixes.