Our last conversation left many of you wanting to know more about our favorite Principal and co-founder of RevX, Dr. Alexa Sorden. Lucky us, there’s much more to that initial interview.
Growing up in the New York City public school system of the 80s, being the daughter of an immigrant mother from the Dominican Republic and a Black Southern American father who only completed the 3rd grade, much of Alexa’s path had to be forged without her family’s guidance and while navigating her own identity. Here are 5 pivotal experiences that motivated her work and inspired the creation of the identity-affirming, real-world learning model we now know as RevX.
1. She knows first-hand how a judgemental education system affects a child’s psyche.
“This was 1982, and at the time, they’d place you in a mono or bilingual class based on your last name. I spoke English and had the last name Willingham. But my sister, who had a different last name, was placed in a different class–without my mother’s consent–because she had a Spanish last name.
There was a lot of judgment toward those who needed additional support. Teachers would say things like, “You’re the one that has to live here. I get in my car, cross the bridge to Jersey, and you guys stay here.” It felt emotionally abusive.
There were so many attacks on our identity in a predominantly Latino community. The frustrations on my teacher’s faces when they couldn’t communicate with my mom and had to rely on my integrity to translate what they wanted her to know about me. They wouldn’t look at her. Instead, they’d say, “Tell her…”; you could feel the disdain. I didn’t realize it then, but I walked out of there with anger and resentment that showed up for me in middle school.”
2. She was (and still is) a hip-hop head, but that and other parts of her identity were always misunderstood.
“I’d grown up in a predominantly Dominican community, but I wasn’t showing up as Latina as was expected. This was the 80s, and I was wearing my windbreakers and breakdancing, listening to Doug E. Fresh and Queen Latifah, a hip-hop head. The neighborhood embraced that too, but it wasn’t the primary go-to where that was my primary go-to.
My last name was already different from most of my friends. Then I’d come back after staying with my dad and visiting my aunt and ask, “You ever had collard greens? Mac n’ cheese?” They’d be like, “What is that?”…so this identity thing was happening.
When I got to Middle School, it was a predominantly Black middle school, so I thought I was good. I’m gonna feel at home. I show up like, “I’m Alexa Willingham, my father’s Black…” and it was, “You’re not Black. Look at your hair and look at your skin.” So I didn’t know where I fit in.
3. Without spaces that felt purposeful, where she could feel fully herself, Sorden almost dropped out of school.
“I became rebellious, got suspended for fighting, and cut school a lot. I skipped so much school in the 7th grade that they put me in a “Gates class.” It was designed to keep us from moving. We couldn’t transition because we’d escape out the back door the minute we did.
In the 8th grade, I took a test called the DRP to determine if I could go on to high school. I had 87 absences, showed up on the day of the test, and passed, which confirmed my attitude that school was pointless. So I tell my mom I’m dropping out; I’m not attending high school. My mom responded by telling me I had to go; it was the law. That if I didn’t go to school until I was 16 at least, she would get in trouble, and ACS would take my sister and me away. Luckily, that made me show up to high school.”
4. The Outward Bound program saved her.
“On my first day of high school, I was called into the auditorium along with a few others. See, one good thing my middle school did was label me an “at-risk student,” so someone was looking out for me when I arrived. I was placed in the Outward Bound program, and everything changed.
I met adults that cared about children. They knew my name and were with me from 9th to 12th grade. They took us camping and taught us how to use a compass. We were outdoors, following trails, building tents, and doing trust falls. They started to take away some of that toughness, the chip I had on my shoulder. They inspired me to dream. I could have a goal and want to do something.”
5. A real-world learning experience during Outward Bound led to a lifelong passion and career.
“While I was in the Outward Bound program, they required a community service task. One of mine was tutoring. There was this young man who went to the elementary school right next to the high school that I tutored for about three months, and I enjoyed it. That summer, I saw him in the neighborhood with his mom, who I had never met, and I could see him tugging on her and pointing. In Spanish, she comes up to me and says, “ I just want to say thank you because of you; my son can read.
That was it. I knew this was what I was supposed to do, pursue education. When I went to Columbia, I wanted to understand how to teach reading because I learned in my journey that was one of the things that held us back as a group not reading on grade level. If kids aren’t reading on grade level, they’re more likely to drop out of school. Once I made all those connections, I knew I wanted to pursue reading and enter the field of Education.
Those adults who saw me and gave me real work to do along the way were divine intervention, placed in the right place at the right time to get me where I needed to be, and my whole life has been about returning the favor.”
Over time, the belief that children should have learning spaces where they can express their full identities while excelling academically has only become stronger. That’s why Dr. Alexa Sorden has created a learning model that accomplishes exactly that.
As a Principal and RevX co-founder, her work connects learners with educators who honor and support their identities, encourages engagement in real-life situations similar to her experience with Outward Bound, and combines these experiences with rigorous academic instruction necessary for success. A new world where every student can thrive in an inclusive and supportive environment is possible, and for Alexa, it’s a dream come true.
