Asya Johnson
Master Principal, New York City Public Schools-Longwood Preparatory Academy
Dr. Asya Johnson is the principal of Longwood Preparatory Academy (LPA) in the South Bronx and has implemented Culturally Responsive Pedagogical Practices in her school since 2018. Using Zaretta Hammond’s “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain’s” Ready for Rigor framework, LPA has journeyed through racial affinity groups, which led to staff creating racial equity commitments and culturally responsive pedagogy and school culture. In her research, “A Case Study: Exploring the Self-Efficacy of Untenured Teachers Enrolled in Non-Traditional Teacher Education Programs in Title I, Low-Achieving, Urban Schools”, she explored the lack of culturally responsive training in non-traditional teaching programs, which strengthened her work as a school leader.
She has held several positions at a charter school in Harlem, including the principal. She also served as the Director of Special Education Programs for the New York City Department of Education’s District 79, where she assisted with creating Special Education instruction for incarcerated youth in secure detention facilities and on Rikers Island. Serving as a member of New York City’s Diversity Advisory Group, Dr. Johnson assisted with developing recommendations for diversity in admissions to NYC public schools, most of which were approved by Mayor de Blasio. Additionally, Dr. Johnson served as a High School Superintendent’s District Equity Team member and contributed to the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice, the Institute for Critical Race Theory and Ethnic Studies at St. John’s University. Dr. Johnson is a cohort 19 Cahn Fellow for Distinguished Principals alum, a cohort 4 Gray Fellow for Principal Excellence, and the New York City Chancellor’s Master Principal for the 2023-2024 school year. She continues to advocate for racial justice and educational equity.