Board Member Tisdale
Tisdale affirms his commitment to upholding accountability, equity, and fairness while serving on the board of education. He also pledges to remain transparent and honest.
Born and raised in Jersey City, Christopher Tisdale attended the city's public schools for his education. Tisdale finished his elementary schooling at P.S. 15. After that, he went to Lincoln High School, where he participated in the English/Humanities magnet program and received his diploma in 1997. Tisdale continued his education at Saint Peter's University, where he majored in English and minored in Secondary Education, earning his BA in 2001. Later, he earned a master's degree in education from St. Peter's University, and today, he is working on his Doctor of Education degree there.
At Saint John's and Ann Interparochial School, which is now Golden Door Charter School, Tisdale accepted his first employment as a fifth-grade teacher in 2000, when he was a senior in college. Tisdale obtained a job at the Schomburg Charter School in 2001, and he worked there until its closure in 2012. In addition to teaching in the classroom during his tenure at the Schomburg Charter School, Tisdale served in several leadership and advisory capacities, including those of acting vice principal, interim board member, leader of staff development, lead teacher, teacher recruitment coordinator, student recruitment coordinator, curriculum coordinator, grants writer, professional development coordinator, testing coordinator, and chair of student activities, among others.
Tisdale applied for a charter high school for the creative and performing arts in 2010, and it was one of just six that year to obtain initial approval. The facility prevented the school from getting its final approval in time for its 2012 opening. Choosing not to resubmit, Tisdale continued and is now a middle school English teacher at the Janis E. Dismus Middle School in Englewood, New Jersey. Additionally, he teaches composition at Kean University as an adjunct professor. Tisdale holds certifications for school teacher, supervisor, school principal and school administrator.
The school to prison pipeline, culturally responsive teaching, and alternatives to standardized testing are some of Tisdale's research interests in education. Tisdale affirms his commitment to upholding accountability, equity, and fairness while serving on the board of education. He also pledges to remain transparent and honest.
"Leadership is about improving people," he asserts. People should be given what they require and desire, not what we think they should have. Without keeping the people in mind, effective leadership is impossible.