Hedi Belkaoui

About Hedi Belkaoui

I have been a high school teacher for four of my twenty years of my professional experience in high-need communities. Following that, I received the opportunity to become join the leadership of Providence Englewood Charter School in the Chicago community of Englewood. Here, we improved the instructional and behavioral climate of a school where the environmental factors that affect students and their families are potentially crushing to their overall academic development. Next, at Jay Pritzker Academy in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I have worked with a population of students who would not even dream of the opportunity provided them. Under my leadership, an average of 2 years and 6 months growth has been documented on the latest Terra Nova Standardized Test and a 30 percent increase in our Grade 10-12 students ACT College Readiness Test scores. From there, I served as the founding School Director of Young Scholars Kenderton, a turnaround network public school serving students in North Philadelphia. Here we led a revitalization where we created and enforced positive behavior management systems and clear direct instruction protocols to improve instruction and maintain a safe and secure learning environment. I then also served as Principal of Queen of Peace High School and led an effort to maintain and promote the Sinsinawa Dominican mission of scholarship and social justice incorporating a STEM curriculum for young women. We made significant in-roads concerning overall ACT performance as well as reducing the number of students needing academic intervention. From there, I served as Regional Director of Turnaround Schools and Director of School Improvement for the Archdiocese working with targeted schools to improve academic and financial performance as well as supporting system-wide accreditation and efforts related to school improvement. Most recently I continue to support Ladder Up, a not for profit financial services organization in providing free tax return preparation, legal representation and financial education services to low-income families across Illinois. In addition, I work on select projects as a consultant for both public and private systems, districts and schools on strategic planning, professional learning on assessment, instruction and curricular topics supporting increased student achievement of all learners.

Experience

1. Adjunct Instructor

   St. Thomas University

   May 2023 — Present

Education

• St. Ignatius College Prep

  High School

  1996 — 2000

• National Louis University

  Doctor of Education - EdD, Educational Leadership and Administration, General

  2018 — 2020

• Dominican University

  M.A., Educational Administration

  2004 — 2009