Bernard Gassaway
Revson Fellow 2003-2004
Director of School Reform
New York City Department of Education
Bernard Gassaway is a committed and innovative educator who has dedicated his career to reforming the New York City education system and empowering urban youth. As the Director of School Reform for the Alternative Superintendency of the New York City Department of Education, Mr. Gassaway evaluates, redesigns, and creates schools and programs across the city. Born in Macon, Georgia, Mr. Gassaway moved to New York City as a child and attended New York City public schools. He began his teaching career at Public School 40 in Jamaica, Queens in 1986 and taught high school and middle school students before moving into administration. He has taught at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn and Intermediate School, 59Q, in Springfield Gardens, and was Assistant Principal of Linden Middle School in St. Albans and Far Rockaway High School. In 1997, he became the first African-American Principal at Beach Channel High School. During the five years he served as Principal, he successfully led the school through a dramatic turn around before leaving to take his current position. Mr. Gassaway graduated from Sterling High School in Brooklyn and holds a B.A. in English from LeMoyne College, an M.P.A. in Public Administration from SUNY-Albany, and an M.S. in Education Administration from Baruch College. He has received the New York State Title I Distinguished Educator Award and the Queens Borough President’s African-American Advisory Council’s Queens Educator of the Year Award, and was named Educator of the Year by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. For the last twelve years, Mr. Gassaway has also been a committed volunteer mentor for the community organization CLIMB (Commitment to the Longevity and Improvement for Male Blacks). He is a father and husband, and lives in Jamaica, Queens. As a Revson Fellow, he focused on conflict mediation and cooperative learning. He also began work on a book that will outline strategies for educators and communities to improve education for children. Mr. Gassaway plans to begin a doctoral program at Columbia next spring.
(The Revson Fellow’s biography that appears above was last updated in 2003. Revson Fellows may update their biographies on this site by sending email to: revson@columbia.edu)
The Revson Program is an unparalleled opportunity for committed New Yorkers to refuel-through conversations, classes, projects and reflection. For me, the Revson year provided a much-needed pause to assess the past and plan for the future, with guidance and support from the academic and activist communities. At the end of the year, I emerged stronger and clearer about my work goals, and personally more enriched and replenished by new relationships with colleagues and professors. With the Revson network and annual meetings to look forward to, the program keeps sustaining those of us working to make New York City a better place to live for all New Yorkers.
