100 Atlanta Coffees, 002: Sarah Harvey
I’m grabbing coffee with 100 Atlantans and sharing inspiring takeaways - meet Sarah Harvey, founder of Sankofa Montessori
100 Atlanta Coffees, 002 with Sarah Harvey
Founder and Executive Director of Sankofa Montessori, Atlanta’s first tuition-free Montessori School, located in Forest Park, GA and opening July 2023
Met at Victory Community Center on Dekalb Ave
In the final leg of an 18-month journey to launching, Sarah has worn an entire closet’s worth of leadership hats.
Sankofa received its state charter in July 2022, though funding wasn’t set to arrive until a full year later in July 2023. The state expects schools to have a building and staff by the time the money arrives, so in the meantime, Sarah became a fundraiser.
Sarah is amazingly talented. She has a background in the classroom with Teach for America, a Masters in Special Education, and has worked in teacher recruitment as well as strategy and operations for scaled education programs.
Still, this is a new plane of leadership: setting the vision, fundraising for a net-new entity, recruiting and managing a lean but mighty staff, and overseeing the operations work required to open the school on time, in compliance, and under budget.
We discussed the ‘crucible moments of leadership’ in her journey — like letting someone dear to you go, or telling staff that the new vendor they’re excited about has to accept net-45 payment terms or the purchase can’t be made until August if you’re going to make payroll.
I asked what has allowed her to level-up her leadership to handle the breadth of mission-critical responsibilities associated with her role.
She credited past managers who became mentors and went out of their way to both instruct and be a role model for Sarah as they performed their jobs. They took her along to the senior-level meetings that she wasn’t required to attend.
Specifically, she recounted one boss who had her practice a relatively low-stakes presentation word-for-word, multiple times, to the point where it felt borderline patronizing.
She now realizes that level of guidance is essential for two reasons. Not only does it help staff with professional development, but it sets a standard for stewarding a brand and level of excellence that’s required for accomplishing a meaningful challenge.
I believe true apprenticeship is becoming harder in the remote-work environment.
Observing great people in action was one of the many gifts I received during my time at McKinsey. My first manager taught me, explicitly and implicitly, how to be a professional. She literally proofread my emails and coached me to take words out. I also got to watch her navigate meetings with our partnership and clients.
I managed a remote team for the past three years. Like Sarah, I tried to pay it forward whenever possible and spend the extra effort to role model, coach, and reflect. It’s undeniably harder to provide a heightened level of mentorship when you’re not physically alongside someone.
What best mitigated this for our teams was an effort to put quick check-ins on the books, especially after meetings, to debrief. These happen naturally in a team room, less so via Zoom. It’s yet another challenge for a leader to take on during the technology era.
Sarah’s magic lies in her potent mix of Idealism and Realism
Sarah’s Idealism: believing she can increase equitable access to what has historically been reserved for the privileged
I probed Sarah about the tipping point that got her past the shiny idea that a tuition-free Montessori school should exist and to the sleeves-rolled-up commitment of launching and leading it herself.
She was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, which she now disavows based on their exclusive beliefs, strict ordinances, and doctrinal control. But one positive trait that was deeply instilled was a sense of obligation to make things better for her community.
She said it’s fundamentally unfair that some children have access to opportunities like Montessori-style learning while others don’t based on their parents and their zip code - effectively whether or not they won the genetic lottery. Sarah is driven to share the goodness of a world-class education with more kids and families.
She described her two-year-old daughter, one of two Black girls in her current Montessori class, commenting that her hair is different from the other girls’. Sankofa will serve 90% children of color.
Sarah’s Realism: providing independence with boundaries to prepare children for the future they’ll encounter
What happens when a child leaves an alternative school, especially if they move to a more traditional model?
Sankofa will serve a relatively transient population. So while Sarah is passionate about the independent learning facilitated by the Montessori method, she recognizes the need for boundaries.
“Project-based learning with rigorous outcomes” will prepare the children much more for their futures than a “choose your own adventure” curricula.
This has led to principled discussions with potential parents. Some have questioned practices like initial assessments. Others have expressed reservations with children taking tests.
Sarah counters: if you don’t assess where students are when they enter, how can you avoid teaching to the lowest-common denominator when one child might be reading well while another needs help with letters?
Her father is a plumber; he has to take a test to get certified. If your children can’t prepare and sit for a test, what future are you preparing them for?
I believe the democratization that Sarah is working towards should be a public policy goal.
Tim Ferriss recently described his methods of predicting the future of what will be relevant at scale. One question he asks: what are rich people doing right now that everyone might be accessing soon? The example he gave was full-time assistants, which is gradually becoming democratized by AI.
We should ask the same question wherever possible for government-funded entities. Rather than settling for a passable education, how can we package and deliver the very best curriculum and programs we’ve discovered, at scale?
Similar logic applies across the economy, whether it’s nourishing meals for medicaid patients, preventative and holistic medical care, sustainable transportation, or access to mental healthcare.
Democratizing access to the best resources and services should be a major promise of advanced technologies. A combined focus on leveraging new technologies, innovative practices, and inclusive policies can help promote equity.
I’m celebrating Sankofa as an example of progress towards a more equitable society where more people have opportunities to benefit from advancements.
For Reflection & Discussion:
What are some efficient ways for individuals starting their careers to absorb intangibles required for professional success when working remotely? In what ways can technology support this?
How can advanced technologies be harnessed to promote equity and democratize access to high-quality education, healthcare, and other essential services?
About Victory Coffee
This was my first time visiting. Victory has an amazing indoor/outdoor flow with high ceilings and plenty of space. It excels on sunny Atlanta days.
The menu is simple and effective - coffee, teas, and biscuits. Not your spot for an organic breakfast, but pretty darn good for some comfort food.
About 100 Atlanta Coffees:
Through LEAD Atlanta, church, and business networking, I’ve gotten to meet some amazing folks who have sharpened my thinking, broadened my understanding, and inspired me.
I decided to publish 100 of these coffees and my reflections as a way to shine a light on some of the good souls, and local spots, in our city.
I had spoken with Sarah once previously, but had never met her in person. My hope is to ask each coffee guest to recommend someone new for me to meet, expanding my Atlanta friend group and introducing us to dynamic people across business, government, religion, the arts, and more.
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