Michael Essien
Education Consultant & Principal, Essien Education Group
Board Member
ABEN: A Black Education Network
City
Oakland, California
A Bit About Me
I'm passionate about the work we do at ABEN because it helps me to be a better person. It allows me to directly connect with the community and people who look like me. And, the organization's focus is on education, the vehicle which provides economic and social empowerment to our people.
I enjoy esoteric mathematics and constructing shapes using a compass and a straightedge.
Bio
Michael Essien has 30 years of educational leadership and believes in equity and social justice. He is the founder and CEO of Essien Education Group, an education consulting group designed to interrupt systemic oppression through the delivery of workshops, coaching, and professional development for students, parents, educators, and districts. In addition to founding the Essien Education Group, he is the executive producer and host of the podcast, Paradigmatic Silences. This podcast seeks to interview powerful educators who are making a difference in students' lives and discuss topics often silenced in educational discourse.
For the past 8 years, Michael has worked as a middle school administrator in the Bay Area, seeking to close the opportunity gap, end significant disproportionality, and interrupt practices producing predictable statistical outcomes for Black students. He primarily focuses on community schooling, project-based learning, restorative practices, and a new equity-based strategy he created called "Push-In Services." Prior to becoming an administrator, Michael taught in Oakland Unified School District for 21 years. He taught Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Resource Specialist, and Special Day Class. Michael was an instructor for the University of California Berkeley Mathematics Engineering, Science Achievement Program. He is a certified Education Specialist by the State of California.