Bilal Muhammad is the new supervisor of 54th Street Academy, the district’s alternative high school. The role is similar to a principal.
Other positions you have held in education:
- Student services coordinator at Kelloggsville Middle School
- Middle School athletic director at Grand Rapids Public Schools
How about jobs outside education? I worked in customer service for JC Penney Catalog for seven years.
Education/degrees: Bachelor of social science and master of education from Ashford University
Spouse/children: wife, Stacy; son, Amir, 8; and daughter Illiana, 14
Hobbies and Interests: I like sports. I coach basketball and I still play basketball. I like to travel.
What kind of kid were you at the age of students at this new school?
I was big into athletics. I played basketball and I ran track. Academically, I was stellar, I got the work done.
The biggest lesson you have learned from students is… I feel students want to know you have their best interests at heart. They won’t really learn from you if you don’t build that positive relationship with them.
Finish this sentence: If I could go back to school I would go to grade ? because… I kind of feel like everything happens for a reason so I wouldn’t change anything I went through, because I learn from my experiences. I wouldn’t go back to a grade, because everything I’ve been through made me who I am.