Her Story
Keishia Thorpe says she planned to be a lawyer. She came to Howard University on an athletic scholarship, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English and political science in 2003, and was admitted to law school. Tutoring students after school changed her mind, and she became a teacher even though she did not major in education. She went on to earn a master’s in education leadership from Strayer University in 2008 and a principal’s license from Trinity University in 2021.
She has taught English and Advanced Placement English in New Hope Academy, DeKalb County Public Schools, the District of Columbia Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools. She taught seniors at the International High School at Langley Park, where all students were learning English, and later served as an English success coach at Charles Herbert Flowers High School, where she has been promoted to assistant principal for ninth grade and English language learners. Her honors include the National LifeChanger of the Year award for 2018-19, the IHSLP Collaborative Teacher of the Year award in 2021, the Prince George’s County Education Association Excellence in Education Award in 2021, a Maryland Governor’s Medal of Excellence in 2021, and a county proclamation naming December 14, 2021 Keishia Thorpe Day.
Beyond the Classroom
For fifteen years Thorpe has coached track and field, and her athletes have become regional and state champions. She says coaching lets students see a different side of her, and she uses it to help with college applications, essays and life skills. A former student credits her with helping him win a scholarship to college, and a former principal says the track team she built was always full and improving. She also set a USA Track & Field club championship record in 2012.
She started the Reading Cafe with the school librarian and Starbucks to encourage reading, and ran the Elite Writers club, whose members testified before the Board of Education and state legislators, including in support of the AP Opportunity Act of 2020. She served as a College Board Maryland State Advocate and helped draft Maryland’s Credit for Prior Learning and AP Opportunity Act legislation. During the pandemic she created the PGCPS Teacher Talk Series, free monthly online professional development that ran for two years.
Her reach extends overseas. She founded the Hope Beyond Distance Foundation and the Global Education Teacher Summit, which has been held in Jamaica and Central Asia, and she sits on advisory boards for Nobelfest and Education Concepts Global. A Bahamian district superintendent says her work helped Old Bight High School on Cat Island become the first government school in the country to offer AP courses, and that she taught AP English Language and Literature to its students over Skype from her Washington, D.C., classroom.
Philosophy Into Practice
Thorpe’s classroom has flexible seating and walls lined with artifacts from students’ countries and cultures. Her students use inquiry-based and project-based learning, and she invites living authors and other classrooms around the world to join lessons virtually. Her Language Exchange Program connected her Spanish-speaking students with native English speakers in The Bahamas, who met weekly in her global virtual classroom.
She says her teaching has moved from traditional methods toward a more student-centered approach, and that the most productive relationship between teacher and students is one built on “mutual respect, trust, and open communication.” She uses formative assessment daily and adjusts instruction in real time. She says the end goal of her teaching is “to develop competent global citizens and to cultivate lifelong learners.”
“Envision teaching as heart work, not hard work.”Keishia Thorpe
In Her Own Words
“believe in your students, their stories, their value, and, above all, in your ability to change their lives and the world.”Keishia Thorpe, her personal mantra
“I strive to create a supportive atmosphere where students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, asking questions, and asking for help.”Keishia Thorpe
“I am not just a teacher; I am a champion, constantly evolving through professional development”Keishia Thorpe
What Others Said
“Ms. Thorpe is a top-notch educator that goes above and beyond to support students in the classroom and on the field as a track coach.”Former principal, International High School at Langley Park
“Her wholistic work embodies what it means to be endowed with such worthy honor and she is an exceptional example of what it means to be called a teacher.”Jerome Forbes, district superintendent, South Central Bahamas District
“Ms. Thorpe stands as an exemplar of excellence and dedication in the realm of education.”Jake Scott, math department chair, International High School at Langley Park
“Her unwavering belief in all of our abilities served as a driving force to push us and me especially towards academic success”Isatu Bah, former student