Today we’d like to introduce you to Keedar Whittle.
Hi Keedar, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Born and raised in ATL…Southside. My mother, Dr. Marsha Whittle, retired APS and my pops, Curtis Whittle, has always been in sales. My sister, Zakiyya Whittle, is currently an assistant principal. I’ve always known education is my calling. I started my career as an 8th grade Special Education teacher and eventually became a Science Coordinator for three middle schools in the Boston area. After Boston, I moved to NYC and LA to pursue the arts but always stayed close to education through substitute teaching, mentorship programs and tutoring. After 12 awesome years in LA, I am now back home working within education as owner of two companies. Educators Now staffs QUALITY educators on a temporary, long-term or permanent basis for childcare facilities, grade schools and afterschool programs. Tutors on Demand is a personalized tutoring firm for all subjects, exceptionalities and test prep. After being back in Atlanta, I noticed our public school system is struggling embarrassingly. Only 39% of our students can read on grade level and that HAS TO CHANGE! I am now running for Atlanta Public School Board Seat 8 At-Large (citywide vote) to 1. bring measurable, equitable policies, 2. increase our wrap-around services to meet the needs of every scholar and 3. push us toward a rigorous curriculum and standards.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Education was already in a very vulnerable place BC (Before Covid). Covid has really exposed the disparities throughout the city. We need to close the technology gap in Atlanta, but that is not enough. We need a more robust tech program to support innovative learning and access. We should be leveraging strategic community partnerships to achieve our goals. We also need to increase our parent engagement. Making sure our parents know how to use their voices for true change is imperative. There also needs to be transparency and clear communication between the school district and parents. We can shift the culture of what school looks like in Atlanta. We are the leaders in many industries here and it’s time Education is one of them!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Educators Now?
Our company Educators Now was created in anticipation of my return to ATL in 2016. We staff QUALITY educators at childcare facilities, grade schools and afterschool programs. We are the FASTEST GROWING SUBSTITUTE TEACHER firm in the SE. We have been blessed to scale our business over 3,600% in less than five years. We found a niche in staffing and we are sticking with just that. We deliver on the typical pain points better than any other company out there. Since Covid, it has been tough finding people that want to work. We also operated at -800% in teacher placement for 14 months straight during Covid. We fought hard to survive and now we are back thriving and catching up to where we left off. We have positions for everyone from highschool diploma to PHD. We also pride ourselves with finding teachers permanent opportunities as well. We have filled over 100 permanent positions and over 30,000 temporary or long-term positions since conception. We currently have the capacity to hire 100 more people!! This experience in the community, balancing budgets and belief in forward-moving gives me an advantage as a city wide board member.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
HA! Not sure if it’s surprising but I’ve had three surgeries on my leg in less than two years and it hurts me to walk EVERYDAY! With that said, I miss physical sports and getting super competitive. I’ll still beat you in H.O.R.S.E. though!!
Contact Info:
- Email: keedar@educatorsnowllc.com
- Website: KeedarWhittleforAPS.com and EducatorsNowllc.com and TutorsOnDemandllc.com
- Instagram: @Keedar @KeedarWhittleforAPS @EducatorsNowllc @TutorsOnDemandllc
- Facebook: @Keedar @KeedarWhittleforAPS @EducatorsNowllc @TutorsOnDemandllc
