Enikia Ford Morthel | Superintendent, Berkeley Unified School District

On May 18, 2022, the Berkeley Unified School Board of Trustees selected me to be their next superintendent. I am honored by this opportunity to serve this community and be a steward of BUSD’s powerful vision. I also recognize this honor would not be possible without the many people who have influenced me and helped shape who I am and my vision of what a high-quality education is and should be.

My mother was just 19 years old when I was born. She and my father had an intense, but abusive, love affair that led to the early end of their brief marriage — leaving my mother a single mom when I was two.

My mother attended school in the Compton Unified School District. Although she enjoyed so many of the extracurricular and social activities, her experience in school would forever impact her. She was trapped by a single story and narratives that had predetermined what she could accomplish. She had dyslexia and although she could demonstrate her knowledge in many ways, she did not fit the traditional mold of a student and was often misunderstood.

She would go on to be successful in life and career. But it was clear that it was all despite what was taught and told to her by some adults in her formative years. Her entire life seemed to be about proving what they had told her wrong. Still, education was critical to her, and she would make sure that her girls (me and my younger sister) had the best of it.

Both of my dads were geniuses. They were well-read and stayed ready to engage in critical conversations and rigorous debate.

My biological dad was a straight hustler. I have no recollection of him ever holding a full-time job. He was known and respected in the five-block stretch of South-Central LA that became his domain. I always marveled at how revered he was in his community. His power, he would tell me, was not about force but rather his ability to “out-think people . . . get into their mind.”

My stepdad was in and out of prison for most of my life. I never knew what he did to ‘get in’ but vividly remember the trips we would take to the library cultural events when he was out.

Different men, but there was a lot about their foundation that was the same. Among the many was their experience in the Los Angeles Public Schools — black boys who were thirsty for engagement, sometimes mischievous and like my mother (though for different reasons) misunderstood. They were ahead of their classes, but often put out of them for behavior or pushing back and asking too many questions. As soon as they graduated high school (in all honesty, it was much sooner), they applied their aptitude to street life. School did not know how to encourage their creativity, brilliance or curiosity. They found validation in a different arena. Yet, both men expected excellence from their daughters, even if they did not have or expect the same of themselves.

Theirs were a few of many examples of dreams deferred and people deterred. Stories of school and life that were all too familiar to folks who looked like me. The public schools were not affirming for any of them and did not prepare them for life in the ways they hoped for and needed.

Their educational journeys were in complete contrast to mine. In part because they were each determined that I would be offered what they felt they were denied. Yet, they were foundational in my understanding of what schools could be. They were the roots for my belief that schools were about more than just ABCs and 123s, but that schools had the responsibility and privilege of feeding student’s souls and spirits, speaking to their hearts, and nurturing purpose and meaning.

When it was time for my formal education to begin, my mom — who had lost confidence in our public schools — did whatever she had to do to make sure that I had the best educational opportunities available. She was able to enroll me in K. Anthony Elementary, a small private school led by an extraordinary man we affectionately called Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson was a custodian in the Inglewood School District. Frustrated with the experiences and outcomes of black and brown youth in the system, he felt called to change his career and go into education. In 1971, he and his wife purchased a little fire station on Crenshaw Boulevard and Inglewood. K. Anthony Elementary (preschool to 6th) was born.

While K. Anthony Elementary was a private school, it was not made up of the students that people would traditionally consider private school students. We were all black, mostly from the neighboring hoods and far from affluent by traditional metrics. Most of us had single parents, mostly single moms. Regardless of our family structure, Mr. Johnson was father figure to all, and he did well to create a village of teachers and staff who became family. He knew each of us by name and story. He was always at school at 6 AM and stayed way past 6 PM waiting with the children for the mothers (like mine) who were always late.

K. Anthony taught me that rigor cannot exist, absent relationship. It focused on things that all schools should prioritize — caring adults, community, curriculum that is affirming and a belief in each child’s value and potential, rooted in legacy and high expectations. We were constantly reminded of the power of our example and had the opportunity to witness the excellence of staff — most of whom looked like us. It was not just who they were but who they made us believe we were and could be.

In the 6th grade, I was accepted into a program called A Better Chance. ABC was a program that created a bridge between people of color and elite independent schools. After an intense selection process, I got a scholarship to Brentwood School.

From the physical campus to the content, extracurriculars and culture, Brentwood expanded my notion of what education could be. I immediately realized the vast disparity in resources between Brentwood and even the best of public schools. The privilege afforded me at this rich institution was also attended by a sense of guilt. I loved the education and experiences I was getting, but I struggled with the fact that I had to be taken out of my neighborhood to get ‘a better chance’ in life. And I was conflicted that many other kids were not also given this chance. I was particularly burdened by the idea that there was something different or better about me that made me deserving.

This experience fortified another fundamental belief that drives me every day: each and every student, regardless of zip code, deserves a chance to realize all their potential and amazing futures.

After Brentwood, I went on to attend and graduate from the University of California at Berkeley, the place where all these experiences coalesced to form my passion for social justice and equity leadership. There was no doubt that education would be the arena where I staged my revolution. I got my first job as a 3rd grade teacher in Hayward.

Teaching is the unique privilege of not only preparing minds but inspiring and igniting the young soul. It is a precious opportunity to create conditions that can confirm, contribute and catalyze an individual’s calling and character!

I have had a village of people that poured into and seeded me. I am a firm believer that to whom much is given, much is required. Like Mr. Johnson and my mother, I have something to prove — not to the world but to the babies, themselves, that I serve. In particular, students and communities our system has dismissed and disengaged.

I am excited each day for the awesome responsibility of ensuring high quality education options for all children, classrooms that are catalysts for change and schools that create the conditions for every child to realize their beauty and brilliance!

Being a catalyst for change … It’s Our Superpower

Enikia Ford Morthel is an urban educator, dedicated to creating public education experiences that are revolutionary, relevant and responsive for students and families. She is currently the superintendent of Berkeley Unified School District. Ms. Morthel spent the past 6 years in San Francisco Unified as deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.