When you look at Jarell Lee’s credentials, you may assume he had everything easy. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated from a tony private high school. He then attended Harvard University where he earned a degree in sociology and African-American studies. His early life has even been chronicled in a book about unlocking the secrets to raising successful and purposeful children . If that wasn’t enough, he has also received two Master’s degrees from Hunter College and the University of Houston.
Currently, the 36-year-old is the principal and founder of KIPP Academy Chicago Primary. He is also a husband and father of two beautiful children. And while he’s helping to lead the next generation of Black youth, he’s found time to rap in music videos. But we’ll get to that soon.
Despite his impressive achievements and life, nothing was given to him, everything was earned.
“Growing up in a single-parent household, we didn’t have much, we were pretty poor,” said Lee.
Like all hero origin stories, he was motivated by his mentor. “My mother told me that if I wanted a better life, I had to do well in school. So I did,’’ he said, adding.“Even though there were times when we were homeless and we lived in shelters for years, I still did really well in school.
According to the parenting book he is included in, Lee’s mother taught her three-year-old toddler to read, by using flash cards during their time in a homeless shelter. Moving from shelter to shelter, Lee’s family finally found a house and stability in a neighborhood he called “the wasteland.” Being the smart, short kid in the hood wasn’t easy. He was teased and beat up, once so badly by a gang that he had to be hospitalized. He was only thirteen.
Still, he never stopped studying, which led to him finding his purpose: “Because I did so well in school, I was given the opportunity to go to a fancy private school in the area. It was at that point in time that I realized that it wasn’t that I needed to do well in school to be successful because everyone at the private school did well in school. It was that they had the resources my family just didn’t.”
Since then, his purpose in life has been to ensure poor children have the great opportunities he was lucky enough to have. That’s what drove Lee to become the educator and leader he is today. But, during his time as principal of KIPP Academy Chicago Primary, he still had to struggle through adversity.
The school was founded in the fall of 2019, with only 88 kindergartners. Despite having an exceptional year, where 90 percent of their students were reading on or above grade level, it was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. All the work Lee, his staff, and students did went unfinished.
“It’s been an uphill battle since then, bringing back teachers, bringing back students, reconnecting with families,” said Lee. “COVID turned our whole world upside down physically, mentally and emotionally. We’re finally getting back to the place that we know we can be. But we still have a long way to go.”
This past year, one of his goals was fully realized. The students he started with in 2019 have all graduated from his school (4th grade), and are headed to middle school. And, there’s more good news: The school now has 400 students and Lee and his staff no longer have to tinker with systems every year, now they can establish their school as a place where parents can take their young Black children to learn in a fun and safe environment.
To commemorate the successful year, Lee and some of the teachers starred in a hip-hop video, where they rapped about the school year ending and how much they enjoyed working at the school.
“This is completely on brand,” said Lee. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I was a gospel rapper in high school and I used to take the most popular rap songs and rewrite them. When I became a teacher, I wanted to be as relevant as my students because I knew what it felt like to be a child in their seats. This was a way for me to make school more fun.”
Lee has been writing one rap song a year to commemorate the school year, so be on the lookout for their next hit a year from now.