Jamaal Bowman

Jamaal Bowman was born and raised in New York City. He spent his early years in public housing and later in rent-controlled apartments. He didn’t have much growing up, but his mother provided him all that he needed: love, a stable family, and a sense of community. Bowman now lives in Yonkers with his wife and three kids, and he works as the founding principal of one of thebest public middle schools in the city.

Bowman has fought for teachers, students, and families for twenty years. As a leader in the opt-out movement across the state, Bowman connected parents from diverse backgrounds to the fight. He has been a steering committee member for NYSAPE, where his work centered on successfully dismantling Common Core in NY and decoupling teacher evaluations from student test scores. He has also been a member of the New York State Early Childhood Blue Ribbon Committee, where he championed early childhood learning standards. He worked with Bronx Legal and Visiting Nurse Services to push for policy that trains every teacher in New York State in trauma-informed practices. He worked with Avenues the World school, Negus World, and Hip Hop Saves Lives to implement innovative design thinking and social justice curriculum. He has also led efforts to educate elected officials on the impact of toxic stress on health and education outcomes. He recently earned his doctorate in education focusing on the benefit of the community school model, which is an alternative to charter schools and the roadmap to fixing our public school system. ‍ After seeing the failures in our education system, Bowman started Cornerstone Academy for Social Action (CASA). Located in the Baychester neighborhood of the Bronx, CASA is an innovative public school with a strong emphasis on student voice, holistic education, cultural awareness, and love.

Through his work in education, he has seen firsthand how low-income families are locked out of opportunity by a system that’s rigged for the wealthy and privileged few.

Through his work as an advocate and a Principal, he has seen the results of inadequate housing, homelessness, mental health, the racist immigration system, the school to prison pipeline, food deserts, and trauma filled environments.