Joshua P. Cole, PhD began teaching in Detroit Public Schools and is currently the principal at Ecoff Elementary (A Social Emotional Learning School) in Chesterfield County, Virginia and Founder of A NEW Angle to Create Equity in Education. He earned his doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University in Educational Leadership. Joshua founded A NEW Angle to help educators create equity in education with a NEW approach to leveraging school success. He also is the author of The Character Club available here!
In his second year of teaching at Chalkley Elementary School in Chesterfield, fourth- and fifth-grade teacher Joshua Cole was asked to work with a special education teacher and a group of special needs students with mild to moderate disabilities. He helped every one of those students pass the state's Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment. Working in a school with a high transience rate and a large population of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, Mr. Cole achieves impressive results using a variety of strategies that include reciprocal teaching strategies, technology and small group instruction. Mr. Cole coordinates Chalkley's Early Bird (before-school) and Night Owl (after-school) programs, which have helped increase scores on the SOL and garnered strong support from parents. He also coordinates the summer school program, spearheads the development of diversity training at the school, and leads the 5K Chalkley Run. This is one teacher who should be handsomely rewarded for going the extra mile.
