LATOYA BEARD
Chief of Staff, Akili Academy
Joined the Team in 2014
LaToya Beard is the Chief of Staff at Akili Academy of New Orleans. As chief, she coordinates staff events and school-wide events, serves as the school’s hiring manager, supports the principal with administrative tasks, and works to retain high performing staff, all while advocating the mission, vision and strategic direction of Akili.
Her career in education began in 2007 where she served scholars and teachers in both East Baton Rouge and Jefferson Parish Schools until 2014. She taught all content areas as a 3rd grade teacher and served as a mentor teacher while teaching 5th grade ELA and social studies. Her achievements in the classroom include Teacher of the Year nominee , 70% of her students reaching Basic or Above on LEAP in both math and ELA, as well as being part of a school recognized by the State of Louisiana as a “2014 Top Gains School”.
LaToya’s leadership career began at Myrtle C. Thibodeaux Elementary, where she served as a mentor teacher supporting the overall implementation and operation of the Teacher Advancement Program within her school. She co-facilitated weekly cluster meetings, conducted teacher observations, provided actionable feedback, analyzed data to support student achievement, and monitored individual growth plans. In 2014, she joined Crescent City Schools as a Literacy Interventionist for grades 3-8 at Paul Habans. As a school leader at Habans, she served as both literacy coach for teachers in grades 3-8 as well as Director of Curriculum and Instruction for grades 3-5. Under her leadership, the 3-5 team made significant academic growth in all subjects, with her team being recognized for exceeding Habans’ school wide academic achievement goal in 2017. In 4th grade and 5th grade, scores ranged from 72-77% of ELA scholars passing the LEAP at basic and above.
LaToya grew up in Nashville, TN and received her Bachelor’s Degree in English from Louisiana State University.