Summer Wood, Ph.D. is the founder and CEO of Edvantage Coaching & Consulting. She is currently working as a full-time principal. She is dedicated to not only building up her own team of teachers, but expanding her reach to teachers throughout the country. Her goal is to ensure that all students are afforded the opportunity to be taught in spaces that are equitable and engaging. She is laser-focused on coaching teachers to build capacity as an anti-racist, culturally responsive instructor.
BIO
Dr. Summer D. Wood
Founder, EDvantage
The Teacher & Coach
Summer is a fourth-generation educator. She comes from a lineage of family members who have dedicated themselves to educating the next generation—whether that be in elementary or higher education. She is proud of this rich heritage and hopes that her efforts in this field will leave a legacy of educational excellence.
Summer received a Bachelors of Business Management degree from Oakwood University. At that time, her desire was to combine her business acumen with the needs of higher education, but those plans changed and Summer landed in a Baltimore City Public School elementary classroom. From that day forward, she knew, despite all of the challenges, that this is the work her heart desired. During this time, she earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching from The Johns Hopkins University.
After teaching in BCPS, she transitioned to be an instructional coach in the District of Columbia Public School System. Summer thoroughly enjoyed working side-by-side with teachers, helping to grow novice and veteran teachers alike. Through this process, she learned that growth is for everyone and that coaching was about helping people to see how they can expand their practice. The value of team was central to her work in DCPS.
The Student
After serving as an Instructional Coach in DCPS, Summer knew it was “now or never “for continuing her educational pursuits. She attended Vanderbilt University (one of the “Southern Ivies”) and received her Ph.D., where her research interests centered on critical literacy, with an emphasis on the reading experiences of young Black male readers. Her work focused on culturally responsive techniques in the literacy classroom, and incorporating a focus on justice within the classroom space.
The Leader
Summer has been a school leader for 6 years. She is dedicated to her school and has seen the student body grow exponentially under her care. After her fourth year as principal, Summer received the Principal of the Year Award for the growth in student scores, enrollment, and overall school excellence.
The Professor
In an effort to continue to be a part of the training of our future and current teaching force, she worked as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt and Lipscomb Universities. During this time she taught courses such as: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Teaching the Diverse Learner, Diversity & the Special Needs Learner, Theory & Practice in Second Language Acquisition, and more.
The Consultant
Summer has worked with a variety of schools and education organizations to help develop teachers. She has conducted everything from one-on-one development sessions to large-scale professional development workshops. Summer has expanded her consulting work to include group coaching, specifically designed for teachers who are ready to move forward with a more equitable and culturally responsive classroom.
