01 / The Idea

The future of education
won't look like its past.

Dr. Chase leads from a simple premise: children change, communities change, and the tools we teach with change — so the way we lead schools has to change with them. Her doctoral research on instructional leadership for struggling adolescent readers won acclaim before she ever led a district; a decade later, that same instinct — find what's broken, rebuild it in public — is what her audiences hire her to bring to their rooms.

Currently exploring

Leadership

Browse keynotes, Strictly Education conversations, articles, and quotes tagged Leadership in The Chase Index.

02 / The Person

Tahira.

Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase is a distinguished educator with nearly three decades of experience, beginning at Norfolk State University and continuing through graduate study at CUNY and Mercy University. In 2011 she earned a doctorate in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University — her award-winning dissertation examined which instructional leadership styles actually move the needle for struggling adolescent readers. She was later selected for the Women in Education Leadership Institute at Harvard University.

As Superintendent of the Greenburgh Central School District (2014–2021), she drove the graduation rate from 87% to 94%, launched a districtwide Professional Learning Communities model, and introduced Mandarin Chinese PreK–12. Since July 2021 she has led the Westbury Union Free School District — restructuring safety protocols, expanding STEM and biliteracy, and pursuing IB World School candidacy.

Before the doctorate, before the district, she was a 14-year-old riding two city buses down Arthur Avenue to file for her working papers, alone, because that's what New York City required back then. Asked about it decades later, her answer was simple: "I was always self-determined and self-aware."
— Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase, Voice4Equity interview

03 / The Journey

1990sClassroom
Launched her career as a substitute teacher in New York City's Department of Education before teaching at both the elementary and secondary levels.
2000sAdministration
Became a teaching coach, chaired the English Language Arts department, and led Curriculum & Instruction for the Mount Vernon City School District for six years.
2011The Dissertation
Earned her doctorate in Executive Leadership at St. John Fisher University with award-winning research on instructional leadership styles for struggling adolescent readers.
2014–2021Supt., Greenburgh
Drove the graduation rate from 87% to 94%, launched a districtwide Professional Learning Communities model, added Mandarin Chinese PreK–12, and earned IB Diploma Programme designation.
2021–NowSupt., Westbury
Superintendent of the Westbury Union Free School District — addressing learning loss, restructuring safety, expanding STEM, and pursuing IB World School candidacy.
2024–NowStrictly Education
Hosts "Strictly Education with Dr. Tahira," bringing educators and changemakers into public conversation about the future of learning.

04 / The Stage

Ideas need an audience.

Dr. Chase presenting a session titled 'The Context In Which We Lead' at a leadership conference

Dr. Chase leading a small-group workshop session

Dr. Chase in a seated on-stage interview

Dr. Chase delivering a keynote to a packed boardroom

2026Keynote, National School Safety Conference & Exposition — the nation's largest school-safety conferenceOrlando, FL
2024Co-Emcee, Voice4Equity Tech, Power & Equity Conference for Women in EdTechPhoenix, AZ
2024Presenter, Ghana Association for Supervision and Curriculum (ASCD)Accra, Ghana
2024Presenter, NY State Educational Leaders of Color (Reflective Leadership)Rochester, NY
2024Panelist, Scholastic Literacy Leadership SummitNew York, NY
2023Keynote Speaker, Kentucky Derby Athletic GalaLouisville, KY
2023Panelist, NABSE Leading Ladies Series: Black Women and the SuperintendencyNew Orleans, LA
2020Panelist, Special Report with Areva Martin (CNN)National broadcast

Featured In

CNNUSA TodayK-12 DiveDaily Voice NABSEVoice4EquityGhana ASCDNational School Safety Conference

Signature Keynote Topics

Leading a District Culture Change That Fosters a Safe and Supportive School Environment
Why Women Make Effective Leaders
Writing Your Own Narrative: Transforming a District Through an Effective Communications Plan
Eliciting Urgency with Strategy in the AC-Stage of Education

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05 / Strictly Education

STRICTLY
EDUCATION.

Conversations shaping the future of education, with Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase.

On set, Strictly Education with Dr. Tahira

Episode 1 · The Guest

Dr. Meisha Porter

Former Chancellor, NYC Public Schools — the largest school system in the world, and the only Black woman to have held the position.

The inaugural conversation set the tone for the whole show: two Black women who've run the largest and one of the most complex districts in the country, talking plainly about what leadership through crisis actually requires.

06 / The Chase Index

The Chase Index.

In pursuit of a running record: a growing index of her keynotes, Strictly Education conversations, and articles, organized by the ideas she keeps coming back to.

CASE FILE

Leadership

Where she shows up most: district leadership, keynotes on culture change, and Strictly Education conversations with fellow superintendents.

07 / Multiplying the Number

1.4% isn't a ceiling.
It's a start.

Dr. Chase doesn't just occupy a rare seat — she spends a documented part of her career trying to make it less rare. The record:

Mentorship

Personally mentors several women currently pursuing their doctorates, and mentors high school students on academic and personal goals.

Literacy, Hands-On

Tutors struggling readers directly and leads workshops that teach parents how to strengthen their children's reading at home.

National Reading Advisory Board

Active member, contributing to instructional-practice guidance used well beyond her own district.

Youth Health & Wellness

Partners with the NFL's Play 60 initiative and the Fred Baxter Foundation to bring health and wellness awareness to young people.

Higher Ed

Guest lectures to college students in education programs, sharing what the classroom doesn't teach about leading a district.

Sisterhood

Active member, The Links, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority — both built on a tradition of service and lifting other Black women as they climb.

08 / Impact

1.4%

Of U.S. superintendents nationwide are Black women — she's one of them

87% → 94%

Graduation rate increase she drove as Superintendent of Greenburgh

93%

Of Westbury's admin roles are women — featured by K-12 Dive, 2025

Harvard

Selected, Women in Education Leadership Institute

Award-Winning

Doctoral research on adolescent literacy leadership

Host