Thinking & Writing
A voice for learners in every room.
Dr. Borishade has spent nearly thirty years not only doing the work but speaking about it, writing about it, and showing up in rooms where the conversation about the future of public education is happening.
WHAT “WARM DEMANDER” MEANS TO ME
In this personal essay, Dr. Borishade explains the philosophy that has shaped every role of her career: being a warm demander of equity and excellence. She describes what it looked like in practice, from reading approximately 800 student journal entries in a single weekend, to holding aspiring administrators to School Improvement Plans that accounted for every student rather than a subset, to declaring a growth target of 2.5 years of academic growth in a single school year that more than 5,000 students went on to meet. The essay makes the case that warmth without high expectations is low expectations dressed up as kindness, that high expectations without warmth is a standard no one feels supported enough to reach, and that real growth for every student requires both, held at the same time.
Personal Essay · July 2026
Read the essay →WHY I BECAME AN EDUCATOR
In this personal essay, Dr. Borishade traces the origins of a nearly three-decade career in education back to two immigrant parents from West Africa who authored her success from the kitchen table even when they were not invited to author it from the classroom, and to the foster children she visited as a caseworker who were losing hope with every move. She describes the moment she decided to become a teacher, the promise she made to her mother to earn a terminal degree, her path from a kindergarten classroom in Blue Island, Illinois through schools recognized in Illinois and Washington State, and the expansion of the Parent Academy for Student Achievement in the Kent School District. The essay closes with the belief that has guided every role since: that every student can learn, that every parent deserves a seat at the table, and that a school can be the place that restores hope rather than the place that takes it away.
Personal Essay
Read the essay →WHAT A TRANSPORTATION TURNAROUND SHOULD LOOK LIKE IF A DISTRICT HAS THE TIME TO DO IT RIGHT
A transportation contract is one of the most consequential operational decisions a school district makes, yet too often the process begins only months before the current contract expires. In this reflection, Dr. Borishade lays out what a district can do when it gives itself a full year to plan: who belongs at the table before an RFP is ever drafted, how to resolve whether the vendor or the district should design bus routes, and how to build a contract that competes on on time performance and liquidated damages rather than price alone. The result is a process that protects students receiving special education services, students experiencing homelessness, student athletes, and every family who needs to trust that their child will get to school on time.
LinkedIn Post · July 2026
Read Reflection →THE CONSEQUENCES OF LEADING WITH INTEGRITY
In this practitioner-scholar essay, Dr. Borishade argues that integrity in educational leadership is not merely an ethical aspiration but a generative, daily discipline with real professional and institutional consequences. Drawing on nearly three decades of experience across PreK–12 classrooms, district leadership, and higher education, she examines the intersection of moral courage, trust, and student-centered decision-making. Grounded in the traditions of transformational and servant leadership, the essay contends that leaders who anchor their practice in integrity, even at personal cost, build the cultures of trust, the systems of equity, and the generational legacies that endure beyond any single tenure.
Practitioner Essay · April 2026
Read the essay →PRESS
In June 2025, the St. Louis American featured Dr. Borishade's leadership of a student mural project at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, created in partnership with SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital. Two CVPA students designed and painted a 60-foot mural on the exterior wall of the SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Danis Pediatrics building in Tower Grove, St. Louis. The project began as an art initiative and became something far more significant: a therapeutic journey for students who had experienced tragedy in their own school building. "This was not just an art project," Dr. Borishade said at the ribbon cutting. "It allowed our scholars to grieve, to express, and to heal through the power of art."
The St. Louis American · June 2025
Read the full article →FEATURE
In 2014, the Seattle Globalist profiled Dr. Borishade's work leading the Parent Academy for Student Achievement in the Kent School District, documenting the program's impact on immigrant families navigating the American school system for the first time. The article captured what genuine family engagement looks like when it is designed around the needs of the families themselves rather than the convenience of the institution. One detail from the reporting stands above the rest: a student whose GPA was 0.6 raised it to 2.7 in nine weeks after his parents completed the PASA program. The Seattle Globalist described Dr. Borishade's philosophy of engagement as building "a two-way street where students aren't just learning from school, but the school is also learning from families and community networks."
The Seattle Globalist · August 2014
Read the full article →SPEAKING
In October 2023, Dr. Borishade was invited to speak at the St. Louis Rotary Club's Young Citizens Awards ceremony, one of the city's most established civic recognition events. Her biography and educational philosophy were featured as part of the program, reflecting her standing as a senior education leader committed to the civic life of the communities she serves. The invitation came during her tenure as Chief of Schools at Saint Louis Public Schools, recognizing her contributions to the district and the broader St. Louis community.
St. Louis Rotary Club · October 2023
View flyer →VIDEO
In this reflective conversation, Dr. Borishade speaks about the experiences, values, and convictions that have shaped more than twenty years of leadership in urban public education. From her earliest days as a kindergarten teacher in Blue Island, Illinois, through her service in districts across three states, she traces the through line of a career built on a single belief: that every learner, regardless of circumstance, deserves an adult who refuses to let them fail. The conversation is as much about where she is going as where she has been.
Video interview · 2024
Watch the video →If students do not learn the way we teach, we must teach the way they learn, and educate them as though it is impossible to fail.
”Dr. Millicent Borishade
More to come
Dr. Borishade is an active voice in national conversations about urban education, family engagement, and the leadership challenges facing public schools and universities today. Articles, essays, and additional media appearances will be added to this page as they are published. Invitations to contribute to education publications or speak at conferences may be directed to contact@drmillicentborishade.com.