A Feature Story on Cheveé Taylor ’01: The Question of Leadership
Our Fall 2024 edition of Cross Currents magazine celebrates the work we do at Park supporting young people in becoming confident questioners and responsible citizens of the world. Teachers from each division offer glimpses of how our students develop the skills and confidence in asking questions and experience the joys and confidence in open inquiry. We also share stories from alumni, reflecting on how their time at Park inspired or influenced their professional paths and experiences.
Read alumna Cheveé Taylor’s story below.
Education wasn’t always Cheveé’s path in life. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in drama. With her sights set on pursuing a career in theater, she began an internship at a voice-over agency in New York. After about a year, she returned to Park School for a quick hello to some of her former teachers.
She dropped in to chat with Upper School Principal Traci Wright, who at the time was the Upper School Dean of Students. Traci encouraged Cheveé to apply to Park’s teaching internship program — and that was it. “I remember Head of School David Jackson speaking to and appealing to the things that fed my soul, which were about being part of a community that valued helping you to build, grow, and develop. That resonated with me,” Cheveé said.
After a year interning at Park with Rosie Max in third grade and Marilyn Milton in second grade, Cheveé worked at Gilman School as an assistant teacher in two Lower School classrooms, and then moved to McDonogh School. She spent the next 10 years in McDonogh’s Lower School, starting as a pre-first assistant teacher and then spending nine years as a third grade homeroom teacher. She quickly took on additional roles at the school, including third grade team coordinator and diversity liaison. A new theme emerged for Cheveé as she began her tenure at McDonogh: the idea of leadership in education.
“I felt strongly about questioning policies and creating opportunities for change,” she said. “One specific example was that I was raising a daughter, and our family structure wasn’t traditional, so some students had questions about it. I brought those questions to leadership and asked how we could expose our students to understanding that a nuclear family does not look just one way. I knew that this was something that needed to be addressed on a larger scale in McDonogh’s Lower School community, and I was very proud to be able to help bring an exhibit to campus with pictures of different types of families. I also spearheaded the organization of a day where we could explore diversity, and students could engage in discussions around this topic.”
Ready for the next step, Cheveé jumped at the opportunity to return to Park in 2018 when a position for Director of Upper Elementary and Middle School Admission opened up. She was excited by the prospect of working with students, while also being able to communicate how and why her own experiences as a student at Park were so important.
Back on Old Court Road, Cheveé was firmly entrenched in all facets of school life. In addition to her work engaging and supporting prospective families through the admission process, she taught after-school drama classes, facilitated fourth grade book clubs, and taught an introduction to voice acting to Middle School students during Exploratory Learning Week. She was also a facilitator of the Middle School Black Female Forum affinity group. With her youngest daughter enrolled in Lower School, Cheveé joined the parent community, adding to her roles as alumna, teacher, and administrator. She was all in, as we say, and she loved it.
“I loved my team at Park. We really pushed each other to ask great questions about our admission process, how that process serves students, and how we can ensure that the students we are admitting are going to be dedicated to the school’s mission and set up for success.”
Yet, always in the back of her mind was the imperative for making a difference on a larger scale, and through different roles. “I’m driven by this idea that my voice has a place and a purpose in effecting change,” she said. So she kept reaching higher. She earned her master’s in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Working on her degree and speaking with her on-site mentor, Associate Head of School Priscilla Morales, ignited an interest in exploring paths to headship. “Our conversations were driven by Cheveé’s interest in thinking beyond herself. Incorporating her own perspective and experiences, her questions were both personal, as in how she could develop to best serve students and faculty, and also big picture, examining systematic ways that schools can incorporate more equitable and inclusive practices.” Priscilla said.
With confidence, but with some trepidation because Park had been her family’s home for the past five years, she left the school for a third time.
Cheveé arrived at the Sanford School in Delaware in the summer of 2023 to begin her work as the Head of Lower School. With 12 years of experience working in Lower Schools, she felt that it was the most logical next step. “I’m right where I’m supposed to be. I like that I get to work with kids everyday, but I’m also charged with focusing on the bigger picture of what we need to do to grow as a community.” She always returns to her desire to effect real change – and has developed initiatives at Sanford to connect and engage as a community on a variety of topics, including conflict resolution and mindfulness.
“As an administrator, one of the themes that is important for me to emphasize is that my Black identity plays an incredible part in how I show up in spaces. I want to engage in critical topics that typically can create discomfort or divisiveness. I think what drives me are the opportunities I have as a Black leader to really push myself to be authentic and encourage others to do the same. I believe that the intention behind diversity initiatives is to bring us closer together, allow us to have space and freedom to express ideas, and be collaborative, innovative, and creative. But, the only way to get there is to have diverse perspectives and representation, and to not be afraid to talk and engage in the conversations that will lead to genuine openness and curiosity.”
Reflecting back on her time as a student at Park, Cheveé notes that she gained confidence in learning to initiate conversations, ask questions, and engage – and that’s what she does everyday as the Head of the Lower School at Sanford.
“Ultimately, as Traci advised me a number of years ago, being an effective leader is about active listening. I can have a lot of ideas, but being able to ask questions and listen intently are the qualities of a good leader.”
Find the full Fall 2024 issue of Cross Currents here.
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