OUR STORY
With schools failing, families filing for bankruptcy and foreclosure, and businesses leaving a struggling community in Memphis, Tennessee, Yetta Lewis and Derwin Sisnett saw a need for education and community development.
They worked to develop a community-based school that would address both. In 2008, Power Center Academy opened its doors to 125 sixth grade students in Hickory Hill. Power Center Academy and the neighborhood began to see early successes through increased achievement scores and the elimination of community blight.
In 2011, Yetta and Derwin founded Gestalt Community Schools, a charter management organization, to scale the work begun in 2008.
Our Founders
Yetta Lewis
co-founder and CEO
Yetta Lewis is driven by the need to uplift the community. Yetta started her educational journey as a teacher in Baltimore City, where she taught middle school language arts for eight years and served on the board of Head Start. Prior to co-founding Gestalt Community Schools, Yetta was the vice president of curriculum and professional development for The JASON Project, a subsidiary of National Geographic. In addition, she worked as a managing director of professional development for the WorldCom MarcoPolo Internet Content for the Classroom program.
Yetta Lewis served as the founding principal of Power Center Academy Middle School, Gestalt’s first school. As a founding principal, she led a team of extraordinary educators, dedicated parents and supportive community partners who, in just three years, moved the school to a top-performing middle school in Tennessee.
Yetta holds a Bachelor of Arts from Salisbury University, a Master of Education from Loyola University and a Certificate of Technology in Education from Johns Hopkins University. She is also a Pahara-Aspen 2015 Cohort member.
Derwin Sisnett
co-founder
Derwin Sisnett is the founder and managing partner of Maslow Development Inc. (Maslow), a nonprofit organization that develops communities around high-performing schools. Prior to founding Maslow, Derwin co-founded and served as the CEO of Gestalt Community Schools. Maslow was established in order to extend the community development and real estate practices that are a core part of Gestalt Community Schools’ mission to other high-performing schools across the country.
In addition to his work at Maslow and Gestalt, Derwin serves on the Power Center CDC board of directors; the Crosstown Arts board of trustees; the Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence board of trustees; and the Memphis Light, Gas & Water board of commissioners, where he serves as chairman.
OUR MISSION
We aim to leverage community assets to empower individuals who will be college-ready, career-ready and community-ready. We will achieve this mission by providing students with an exceptional educational program, defined by rigorous curriculum standards, high expectations for academic achievement, integrated technology and community service.
OUR VISION
Our vision is to build better communities through education. To this end, Gestalt targets low-income communities that have failing schools, then catalyzes grassroots leadership to revitalize the neighborhood; educate the youth through high-performing schools; and partner with providers to tackle out-of-school challenges that hinder students from succeeding.
OUR COMMITMENTS
