> National Builder Awards
Salome Thomas –El
National Recipient
Educator & Mentor

As a star teacher, Salome Thomas-El could have abandoned the inner city for greener pastures. Instead, he chose to stay, and now Philadelphia’s most needy children are becoming its most successful.

If a man's legacy is measured by the impact he has had on others’ lives, then all the rulers in the Philadelphia public school system laid end to end couldn’t begin to convey the accomplishments and life-changing influence of Salome Thomas-El. As a young teacher, Thomas-El’s pedagogical gifts were readily evident. Not only was he a talented instructor who could make subjects come to life, Thomas-El possessed a still rarer gift—the power to excite, to motivate, and to inspire.

It wasn’t long after his 1987 teaching debut that wealthier districts in suburban Philadelphia took notice of this quickly-rising star. Offers started rolling in—with their promises of higher salaries, better facilities, and greater prestige. What might have tempted most teachers did not entice Thomas-El. He opted time and again to put the needs of Philadelphia’s inner city children first and to remain where his talents were most needed.

One of Salome Thomas-El’s methods for reaching students has been to introduce them to the challenging, cerebral game of chess. He started a club at Vaux Middle School, and before long his students were capturing pieces and checkmating opponents across the city, the state, and even the country. His students from urban Philadelphia have claimed an astounding eight national chess championships.

Tonight Salome Thomas-El adds the Nation Builder Award to an overflowing list of recognitions. He has received the Marcus A. Foster Award as the outstanding School District Administrator in Philadelphia; the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award; and KYW-CBS Television’s Making a Difference Award, to name but a few. The Philadelphia Daily News named Thomas-El one of their Future Black History Makers, and he has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, C-SPAN Book TV, The Tavis Smiley Show, and NPR Radio. When Thomas-El is not immersed in his duties as Principal at Reynolds Elementary School, he is a doctoral student at Lehigh University. On top of this, he is the author of the critically acclaimed 2003 publication I Choose to Stay, which is slated for release as a feature film by the Walt Disney Company.

In a community where many children grow up lacking male role models, Salome Thomas-El has been a surrogate father to many young people. He has challenged students to dream boldly, to believe in themselves, and to cultivate the practices of hard work that will bring their dreams to fruition. What starts with knights and castles in middle school often leads to the humanities and sciences in college—all accomplished by young men and women who simply needed to be challenged, and believed in, as children. Thomas-El is a shining example of the impact that adults can and must have in shaping the world of tomorrow.