EXPERT ON:
◉ Decision-Making & Emotional Intelligence
◉ Inspirational Life Story
◉ Overcoming Adversity
◉ Motivation & Mindset
◉ Legacy & Calling
EXPERIENCE:
◉ Head of School at Freire Charter School Wilmington with extensive experience in student leadership, program development, and school administration
◉ Former educator and championship chess coach whose students earned multiple state titles and two National Chess Championships
◉ Equity-focused leader shaped by lived experience, committed to expanding opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth
Nate Durant is currently the Head of School at Freire Charter School Wilmington. He has previously worked as the Head of School at TECH Freire Charter High School in Philadelphia, founding Chair of the revamped City of Wilmington’s Civil Rights Commission, father, husband, and friend.
He has been with Freire since 2017, where he started as the Director of Student Activities. In that role, he designed, developed, and led the after-school program, which now consists of over 50 different clubs, activities, and sports.
Prior to working at Freire, he worked as an interventionist, classroom teacher, and chess coach at various city schools. As a chess coach, he often witnessed the impact of income and social inequalities firsthand, as he traveled around the country with his students to Regional and National Tournaments.
Furthermore, he helped his students achieve great success, winning multiple Mid-Atlantic Chess Championships and State Chess Championships in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. In 2014, his students were the first from Delaware to win a National Chess Championship. In 2016, they won their second National Championship in three years.
The oldest of five, he grew up in a single-parent, single-income, two-bedroom row home in North Philadelphia, where he faced many of the same obstacles that economically disadvantaged youth encounter today.
