Frank London Gettridge, EdD, is an educator who has dedicated his career working to improving the lives of the most vulnerable children and families. A New Orleans native, Frank possesses over 25 years of experience in education logging in impressive time and variety as an early childhood, elementary and high school teacher and administrator.
Prior to joining the National Public Education Support Fund (NPESF) as the Executive Director, Frank was a Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) overseeing the integration of national program strategies, and managing a team of officers and support staff to support WKKF’s efforts to address issues of inequality, including creating the conditions that help vulnerable children to achieve.
Previously, as an Education Program Officer, rising to National Lead of Program Strategies at WKKF Frank elevated investments focused on strengthening the teacher of color pipeline, transformative family engagement, and closing the 3rd grade achievement gap.
Earlier in his career, Frank was a dedicated elementary school principal in the Chicago Public Schools. During Frank’s time at Clara Barton Elementary School, academic achievement, parent engagement and school enrollment increased, while discipline, suspension, and expulsion rates significantly decreased. In 2013 when the City of Chicago attempted one of the largest school closing plans in this country’s history, it was Frank’s leadership and collaboration with the local community and organizations that lead to the successful removal of Clara Barton from the closure list.
Frank holds a doctorate of global education from the University of Southern California, during which time he studied public education systems across three different countries. He holds a master’s degree in child development from the Erikson Institute in Chicago, IL and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, GA.
Notably, Frank was also selected as a National Head Start Fellow, an Association of Black Philanthropic Executives Fellow, a Children’s Defense Fund Fellow, and served as a National Association for the Education of Young Children Governing Board member.