David E. Kirkland, (@davidekirkland) is a Professor of Urban Education at New York University, and served as the long-standing Executive Director of The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and The Transformation of Schools until starting his own educational equity company, forwardED. 

He is an activist and educator, cultural critic and author, and a leading national scholar and advocate for educational justice. 

While Dr. Kirkland’s work has always centered equity and culturally and linguistically responsive-sustaining education, his more recent work with the NYU Metro Center has focused on supporting instruction responsive to the social, cultural, and emotional needs of linguistically and culturally plural students. 

Dr. Kirkland taught secondary school and served as a school administrator in Michigan and New York. 

He has also organized youth empowerment and youth mentoring programs in major U.S. cities and currently leads efforts to enhance education options for vulnerable youth throughout the U.S. Dr. Kirkland has received many awards for his research and educational advocacy work; a full list can be found here. 

Learn more about Dr. Kirkland by clicking on the following links:

“A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Black Males”

"How a Dyslexic Boy Fell in Love with Words"

"Elements of Oppression"