John A. Taylor, Jr. 

Board Member

John is the Executive Director of the Booker T. Washington Academy, a Connecticut State Department of Education High-Quality School of Distinction and Category 1 ranked school, located in New Haven, CT.  John earned a Bachelors's Degree in Education, and a Masters's Degree in Educational Leadership, from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. He also holds an Executive Leadership Certification in Strategic Design for Charter Schools from Harvard University. John has more than twenty years of classroom and school leadership experience.  Prior to Booker T. Washington Academy, John was the  Founding Principal at Green Tech High Charter School in Albany, NY.  Green Tech is a single-gender college prep high school created to focus exclusively on preparing males for college and career in a city where less

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than ten percent of black and Latino males graduate with a Regents Diploma. Under John’s leadership, Green Tech High School student performance on the New York State Regents exams in ELA, Math, and Science exceeded state averages. Additionally, 100 percent of Green Tech graduates earned, at minimum, Regents Diplomas, and all were accepted into two-year or four-year colleges or universities.

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Prior to coming to the Booker T. Washington Academy, John served as Executive Director of School Turnaround, a practice area of the Rensselaerville Institute.  John has also served as Vice President of Membership and Services for the Northeast Charter Schools Network, overseeing operations and working directly with charter schools to assess school performance and identify solutions to drive overall school improvement while increasing student achievement. Outside of the school setting, John is an avid boater and devoted father.