Dr. John Smith, Jr.

Dr. Smith is an enthusiastic professional educator with 24 years of instructional experience in elementary and secondary education. He is currently in his third year as Chief Learner (Principal) at School of The Future (SOF), in which some of his achievements were improvements in the conditions for success category (Student and Teacher attendance, Learner dropouts, and 4-year cohort graduation rates) for SY 22-23, as indicated on the SPOTlight Spree report. Also, SOF learner STAR participation rates for the 2021-2023 school year was 58%, and in 2023-2024, the learner participation rates increased to 94%.

Dr. Smith believes that partnerships between organizations such as the Philadelphia Zoo, Microsoft, Heights, and the National Science and Math Initiative have enriched our curriculum and provided unique learning opportunities for our learners. He also partnered with universities to offer dual enrollment programs for his learners and emphasized incorporating more Advanced Placement (AP)classes. For the 2022-2023 school year, learners at SOF scored three in AP Language, AP Literature, and AP United States History. SOF will be one of the first schools to have a CTE Computer Science program for the 2024-2025 school year

Special Awards, Certificates, and Honors Dr. Smith obtained: Graduate of the State of Pennsylvania’s Cohort 10 Special Education Leadership Academy. Implemented a district-wide enrichment tutoring program for students of color for the Upper Dublin School District, Completed Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership Program, Honored by the Glassboro School Board for a Peer Tutoring Program, Glassboro Golden Teacher Award, Alpha Kappa Mu Teacher Honor Society (Cheyney University), ACT 101 Mentor Award (Bloomsburg University), Outstanding Service (Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.), served as President of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. (Lambda Alpha Chapter).

Dr. Smith is a proud graduate of Lankenau Motivation and grew up in the Uptown section of Philadelphia.