Michael Essien

Michael Essien is a product of Los Angeles Unified School District. He left home to attend UC Berkeley. At UC Berkeley, he played college football while completing his undergraduate degree in African American Studies. After graduation, Michael worked as a mentor in the High Achievement Wisdom & Knowledge (H.A.W.K.) Program focused on African American youth in the City of Oakland. Mentoring youth caused him to choose education as a career. Michael began teaching at McClymonds High School in Oakland Public Schools. He taught Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Geometry and Special Education for 22 years. Michael became a UC Berkeley Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (M.E.S.A.) instructor while simultaneously teaching in Oakland. M.E.S.A. focused on increasing the number of African American and Latino students eligible to attend the University of California system. Michael felt the classroom limited his ability to impact change for African American and Latino students and decided to return to school and become an administrator. He received his masters degree from UC Berkeley’s Principal Leadership Institute with a focus on urban education. Michael became an administrator at MLK Middle School in San Francisco Unified School District four years ago. He has worked to address inequities in the system and end the predictability of negative student outcomes for African American and Latino students.