Destined To Lead: Part 1

Beginning of A Journey:

Dress shoes clacking, gentlemen talking, and sharp suits with a YMLA logo are the first things you see when entering the Young Men’s Leadership Academy. Who else but a charismatic leader to lead these young men into the future.

Ten years ago, a committee brought forward the idea of an all-boys school to the Fort Worth ISD Board of Education. The man chosen to lead the school was none other than Rodney White.

Mr. White grew up in Abilene, Texas a small town 2 ½ hours west of the YMLA Campus. Son of a church-going Air Force mechanic and Principal, Mr. White knew first hand what it took to be committed to his education. He specifically points to his mom, “… My mom always made me value school.” With this instilled at a young age, he did well in school but there were those around him that didn’t. In high school, he saw other black and brown kids that looked like him but weren’t as committed as he was. This was his driving force in later pursuing a career in education.

Obtaining a business degree at Abilene Christian University, Mr. White wanted to have a career as a loan officer. But he changed his mind once he found out that FWISD was hiring and offering some appealing opportunities.

His first job in FWISD was at Dunbar Middle, today known as Jacquet Middle School, as a science teacher. He chose science because it is “very hands-on” and uses “real-world applications” with its experiments and classwork. While teaching, he built tight relationships with his students to where even to this day, his former students’ kids go to YMLA. “Some of my students now have kids here [at YMLA],…[and I] just [love] building relationships and being a part of the community here at Stop Six and [seeing what my former students are] doing with their lives.”

Teach and Go Home:

Mr. White didn’t have any plans of becoming a principal because he only wanted to “teach, go home, [and] maybe coach a little bit.” But his Principal, Patrica Williams, pushed him into leadership roles throughout his tenure with her. Ms. Williams not only helped give him experiences that he needed to become a leader but also gave him a class with only all boys. “… I was the only teacher with an all-boys class… I think [there] was a divine being setting me up with [YMLA]” Ms. Williams then offered an opportunity for Mr. White to become a principal himself. “… She started telling me I will let you go a period early every day but I’m going to need you to start working on your master’s degree. I asked why and she said you need to be an administrator”

Before becoming the principal of YMLA, Mr. White had a noticeable of success at Glencrest 6th grade. During this time, the district was looking for a principal of YMLA. Mr. White’s boss during his tenure at Glencrest, Ryan Townsend, encouraged him to apply for the position. Still pretty new to being a principal, Mr. White was skeptical about accepting the job. “ … I [have] only been a principal for one year, y’all want me to open a school. I don’t know what to do” But, Mr. Townsend, much like Ms.Williams did when she helped set him on the path to becoming a principal, believed in him, and supported him on his mission to make YMLA successful.

In November 2011, Mr. White found out that he had gotten the job, and he had to break the news to the kids at Glencrest. Breaking the news wasn’t easy, but he made a tough decision and had to help start another school, “It was tough having to tell those kids that I wasn’t coming back”. Mr. White then went on trips to New York, Philadelphia, and North Carolina where he learned more about running an all-boys school and went to seminars. His boss, Mr. Townsend, provided the leadership and financial support to take these trips while also providing much-needed feedback on how to do things. With the knowledge he gained from these trips, he worked downtown(Fort Worth) from January till June, where he created the vision of YMLA. He then hired all the staff, planned professional development, and prepared the campus. The teachers and Mr. White met for a week where they got to know each other, train, and create a bond. In these meetings, Mr. White told the founding Dream Team, “I want this school to be special… make this a special place.” With their help, Mr. White created conventus (a morning meeting in the auditorium), prides (scholars named them), and brotherhood camp(a 6th-grade orientation camp). Before the school year started, there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony where the superintendent revealed the school to the community.

Trials and Tribulations:

As an old quote will say that “with new beginnings there come new challenges”. In its first six weeks, YMLA was an embodiment of that quote. The scores or grades were some of the worst in the district. It was a rude awakening for Mr. White, who said “We are not going to stay open; the boys are not doing their work and not passing their tests.” But Mr. White had an idea to help get the school back on track. He started showing the school’s data and rankings in the district to the kids in conventus. After seeing this, the scholars took this as a challenge and started working harder in class. Mr. White recounts that “We rose to number 3 and 2 in the district in a lot of areas. Then, our next year we were number 1 in a lot of areas.”

When asked what YMLA means to him, Mr. White says while smiling “It means a lot to me… I’m very proud of our school, I’m very proud of who goes to our school, and I’m proud of the staff.” He feels that people think that the scholars “can’t perform academically” because of the way the staff and scholars look, the buildings that YMLA operates in, and the part of town the school is. His refutation to that is, “We have proven different because we all believe that we can be successful.” He believes that at YMLA life-long relationships are being built amongst the scholars and he hopes that when it’s all said and done that the school creates a legacy of young men that can come and give back to not only the school but also the community.[Click here to continue reading in Destined to Lead: Part 2]