top of page
Wall

REAL LEGEND- Dr. Cheryl D. Watkins


Dr. Cheryl D. Watkins is an educator by profession who fell in love with teaching as a child. On rainy days, you could find her playing school on the back porch of her apartment building with her sisters and neighborhood friends. She started her professional career within the Chicago Public Schools as a special education teacher. During her 33-year tenure she rose through the ranks serving in many positions including special education teacher, assistant principal, principal, deputy chief of

schools, and prior to retiring, chief of schools.


The list of awards and recognitions that she earned throughout her career, at the local, regional and national levels, are numerous and include the Golden Apple Award (for excellence in teaching), the Kizzy Award, the Kathy Osterman Award for Superior Pubic Service, the Michael Jordan Education Club Teacher Achiever Award, the Dare to Be Great Award from the Illinois Women in Educational Leadership group and the Margaret T. Burroughs Legacy Award from the DuSable Museum of African History. As a principal, she was one of two recipients within the state of Illinois to receive national recognition as a recipient of the prestigious Milken Award for excellence in education.


She earned her undergraduate degree from Chicago State University where she now serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. She holds a Masters’ degree and a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Currently, Dr. Watkins is studying chaplaincy and ministry care at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.


Dr. Watkins is a speaker, an adjunct professor, an entrepreneur and an author. She is the author of Releasing Her: Wrestling Peace from the jaws of Alzheimer’s a book that details how she and her sisters cared for their mother who battled the disease. She is the founder and lead consultant of Monarch Education Consultants. Through professional development and coaching, she is able to walk alongside schools and districts as they address issues of race and equity in education, improve their emotional intelligence and increase the leadership development of administrators. Two mantras anchor her work: her personal mantra which is to stand up, speak up and show up for the oppressed and these words spoken by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “the time to do right is always the right time.”


Additional information about Dr. Watkins’ contributions to the field of education, and beyond, can be found at https://linktr.ee/CherylDWatkins.

Recent Posts

See All

コメント


bottom of page