Name:		Mr. Jabali Sawicki
		Month:		April 2005
		Schools:		Oberlin College BA 2000 Columbia University MA 2004
		Organization:		Excellence Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant
		Title:		Founding Principal

Jabali Sawicki is the founding principal of Excellence Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant located in Brooklyn, NY. Under Mr. Sawicki's leadership, Excellence aims to prepare its young boys to enter, succeed in, and graduate from outstanding college preparatory high schools and colleges. In August 2004, Excellence welcomed its inaugural group of 88 students in grades K-1. A new Kindergarten class will be added each year to eventually serve grades K-8.

As the first all-boys charter public school in New York City, Excellence represents a response to the alarming trends that threaten the long term success of African-American males. Those trends include higher school drop-out rates, lower graduation rates, and, for those who do graduate, lower rates of college-preparedness.

Steadfastly committed to "the long journey between now and 2020" - when Excellence's first class will graduate from college - Mr. Sawicki draws his faith in the ability of high quality education to elevate the lives of urban boys from his own personal and professional experiences.

Originally from San Francisco, CA, Mr. Sawicki had the opportunity to participate in Summerbridge, a program that prepares public middle school students, especially students of color, to succeed in rigorous high schools by enlisting energetic, talented high school and college students to serve as their teachers during the summer and school year. With the help of this program and his highly engaged mother, Mr. Sawicki accelerated on the path to college by enrolling in a single-sex private school and experiencing the benefits of Excellence's all-boys educational model first-hand.

Prior to helping found Excellence, Mr. Sawicki taught Science in Boston, MA at Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, one of the state's most successful urban charter schools. There, he played a central role in developing the school's academic program and culture. Drawing upon the positive influence of athletics and caring adults in his own life, Mr. Sawicki also founded a competitive soccer program and created a support group for boys.

Meanwhile, on the 8th grade science test, Roxbury Prep had the highest percentage of students scoring advanced or proficient (45%) of any predominantly Black school in the state and the highest percentage of any public school in Boston with the exception of the Boston Latin School. Roxbury Prep students scored advanced or proficient at the same rate as students in Marblehead (45%) and outperformed students in Wakefield (44%) and Scituate (43%). As the 2004 Science MCAS tests were new tests based on revised state standards, it is not possible to compare students' elementary school scores with 8th grade performance.

Jabali Sawicki is a graduate of Oberlin College where he received a dual degree in Biology and Philosophy. Mr. Sawicki also is a KIPP Fellow and received his Master's Degree in Educational Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.

For more information on Excellence Charter School, visit www.ExcellenceCharter.org.