Deborah M. Harvest

Principal, Cochran Academy Elementary School,
East Orange, New Jersey

Deborah Harvest is currently the K-6 principal of Cochran Academy located in East Orange, New Jersey. Early in her principalship of 11 years, Deborah led a team of teachers and parents at her urban public elementary school in creating a curriculum focused on legal studies and community service. Their aim was to “excite and motivate students” and to develop legal knowledge and thinking skills, as well as self-esteem and social responsibility. Students’ service projects in the community are a key component of the curriculum.

Deborah’s responsibilities have been both challenging and rewarding. Her guiding principle to all staff has always been, “teach and speak to every child in your classroom as if they were your own children.” As parents, we have a passion to help our children succeed by providing them with experiences and opportunities to increase their success. We must do the same for the children in our classroom.

In her tenure, she has made teaching and learning central to the school’s climate and held staff and students accountable for learning. With the help of a very dedicated staff, the academic achievement levels of the fourth grade general education students at Cochran Academy have soared from a low of 10% of the students meeting state standards in 1999 to the current high of 93% in 2007. The same results have been achieved in mathematics, where students have soared from a low of 15% meeting state standards in 1999 to the current high of 100% in 2007.

Making good on her school’s theme “We can't spell education without yoU”, Deborah created an “open door policy” by which students’ parents and guardians are always welcome to observe in classrooms.

A member of NAESP since 1992, Deborah is presently serving on the Board of Directors and has previously served on the association’s Resolutions and Standards Committee. She has also held leadership positions with her state association, the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA), where she is presently serving on the Board of Directors, and previously served on the Standards and Assessment Committee, Critical Issues Committee, Urban Education Committee, and Technology Committee.

Deborah’s school was named New Jersey’s Just for the Kids Benchmark School for three years straight and was also recognized as a 2004–2005 Governor’s School of Excellence. Deborah has also received several individual awards, including NAESP’s National Distinguished Principal award and the YMCA’s Minority Achiever award.

Deborah received her B.S. in Elementary Education and M.S as a Reading Specialist from Morgan State University (MD). She also received her Administrative Certification from Montclair State University (NJ).

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