Dr. Dewhanne Picou-Nyivih is the founder of the Tall Poppy Academy.
Building on decades of work in leadership development and education, author and “extra-ordinary” educator, Dr. Dewhanne founded the Tall Poppy Academy in 2018.
Dr. Dewhanne says, “We built the Academy specifically for teachers. Our goal is to cultivate critical and imaginative thinking within teachers and Administrators so that they inspire students to tap into their unlimited potential.”
Dr. Dewhanne elaborates, “Our academy is a working model of whole student-centered teaching and learning with support by building community in the professional development space.” The Tall Poppy Academy supports educators, parents, and school districts with state and federal compliance guidelines and pedagogical strategies geared to differentiating instruction and assessment, to suit each student’s learning modality. What makes the Tall Poppy Academy unique is that we are credentialed teachers and administrators who can actually demonstrate effective pedagogical strategies in a live environment.
Dr. Dewhanne is a certified climate and culture expert with expertise in disproportionality and discriminatory actions towards minority pupil populations in urban school districts. With nearly two decades working in education, she is adept in school-to-home connections, culturally responsive pedagogy, Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs), non-discriminatory and data-based discipline practices, and disrupting implicit bias.
She is the author of The Tallest Poppy – Unlimited, Untapped Potential, a book based on Dr Dewhanne’s dissertation, “The Leadership Practices of African American Women and their lived experiences as Tall Poppies.”
Dr. Dewhanne is an educator skilled in empowering students, educators, parents, and administrators to be resilient, life-long learners. She is a passionate mother of two wonderful children. Dr. Dewhanne has had a life full of stumbling blocks. As the eldest of eleven siblings, she is one of the only siblings to graduate high school, and a first-generation student, to complete undergraduate and graduate school. “My struggle does not define me; this too shall pass,” says Dr. Dewhanne.”
For more information, please visit The Tall Poppy Academy website, Click here, or call 909. 342.2075.