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Bryan Bassette Highlight
The part of the job that I love is knowing that I am influencing minds in a positive way—not only for their success, but for the success of our people and the success of our community.
About Bryan
- I grew up in Oakland, California, and was a student-athlete all throughout school.
- Both of my parents were educators, but I had no intentions of following in their footsteps—I dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player.
- I didn’t end up getting drafted and was no longer a student-athlete—without sports, I lost my drive, stopped applying myself, and was academically disqualified from college.
- I started coaching high school baseball and found that I loved mentoring and building relationships with the kids.
- I went back to school for my bachelor’s degree and started substitute teaching—once I saw firsthand that teaching was about relationship-building and mentorship, I was hooked.
- I started teaching at Piedmont Avenue Elementary with the Office of African American Male Achievement—I was the first to pilot the program for elementary school students.
- Once I had my own classroom and was able to infuse cultural and social awareness into my curriculum, I really fell in love with teaching.
- I taught for seven years before moving into education administration—I’m currently the assistant principal at Elmhurst United Middle School.
