Allies, Co-Conspirators, and Mirrors with Zachary Wright | The LP: EP 3
The beliefs, practices, and policies common in the United States school system are cultivating inequities in classrooms across the country. Activist, professor, and author Zachary Wright has thoughts about how to recognize, repudiate, and reverse these inequities. He shares these insights as we discuss his book Dismantling a Broken System: Actions to Bridge the Opportunity, Equity, and Justice Gap in American Education.


Zachary Wright
Author of Dismantling a Broken System: Actions to Bridge the Opportunity, Equity, and Justice Gap in American EducationWright was a national finalist for the 2018 U.S. Department of Education’s School Ambassador Fellowship, and was named Philadelphia’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2013. While teaching, Wright created a relationship between Philadelphia’s Mastery Schools and the University of Vermont that led to the granting of near-full-ride college scholarships for underrepresented students—a relationship that has seen nearly a dozen college graduates and counting. Wright has also participated in the fight for equitable education funding by testifying before Philadelphia’s Board of Education and in the Pennsylvania State Capitol rotunda.
Wright was recruited by Facebook and Edutopia to speak on digital education and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, organized demonstrations to close the digital divide. His writing has been published by The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Citizen, Chalkbeat, Educational Leadership, and numerous education blogs. Wright lives in Collingswood, New Jersey, with his wife and two sons.
Zachary Wright earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Vermont, his masters of English from Villanova University, and his masters of education from Cabrini University.
About Zachary Wright
Zachary Wright, a finalist for the 2018 United States Department of Education’s School Ambassador Fellowship and a Communications Activist at Education Post, is an assistant professor of practice at Relay Graduate School of Education serving Philadelphia and Camden.
About The LP: Literature in Practice
UnboundEd's goal is to instill the GLEAM™ (Grade-Level, Engaging, Affirming, and Meaningful) instructional framework into classrooms across the nation with professional development, curated programs, and now with a brand new podcast series, The LP: Literature in Practice. Host Brandon White interviews the authors of today’s thought-provoking educational literature and connects the text to GLEAM.
About Brandon White
Brandon White is a former middle school ELA teacher and Restorative Practices educator for the Rochester City School District. He has worked for seven years as a servant leader intern and site coordinator for Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools Summer Literacy Programs in Rochester. He has also advocated for these practices through his participation in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Teacher Advisory Council and through providing professional development at BMGF-sponsored Elevate and Celebrate Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2) Conferences.