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Tony Hernandez
Tony was the first in his family to graduate from J. P. McCaskey High School in 1992. He gained early admissions to Millersville University as an Elementary Education major. Two years into the Elementary Education program, he decided to dual major in Elementary Education and Early Childhood with a concentration in Urban Education. He graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. He gained employment as the first male Kindergarten teacher in the School District of Lancaster and worked in the district for eleven years.
Tony left public education to get a sense of what private school education would be like. For eight years, he served as a Lower School Faculty member at Lancaster Country Day School teaching Kindergarten, Pre-Kindergarten and Second Grade. He obtained a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Human Development from George Washington University in 2012. He was instrumental in designing and implementing the John Cooper Hubbard Scholarship program. He served a faculty advisor to the Student Diversity Council. During his tenure, he attended the Equity Exchange which is an annual institute where public and private school educators convene to discuss how each distinct school community advances diversity, equity and inclusion forward. He completed the National Association for Independent School’s (NAIS) Diversity Leadership Institute. He facilitated the Latino Affinity group at the Annual People of Color Conference.
Besides teaching, Tony also has a passion in professional facilitation. Four years ago, Tony attended training at the National School Reform Faculty in Bloomington, Indiana to become a trained Critical Friends Group (CFG) Facilitator. CFG facilitation is a method utilized in which a small group of educators gather together to reflect on their work and teacher practice to improve student learning. Tony has also taken continued professional development in the Responsive Classroom approach. In May 2016, Tony completed his training and certification in the Points of You™ approach.
Looking at community engagement through the lenses of equity, inclusion and social justice is another area Tony is passionate about. More specifically how equity and inclusion are addressed at the governance level on boards right here in the heart of Lancaster County. Currently, Tony serves as a grant reviewer and featured facilitator for the Lancaster County Community Foundation (LCCF), Commissioner for Millersville University President’s Commission for Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Facilitator for the Latino Empowerment Project, board member for the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania. And, board member for Leadership Lancaster. Tony has been part of LCCF’s Diversity Ad Hoc Committee and is working with other community influencers developing a diversity and inclusion training for Leadership Lancaster.
Tony’s current professional endeavor has unexpectedly and yet precisely allowed him to take all his experiences together in starting his own personal development coaching business. As Founder and Inner Research Guide of Reflective Wisdom, Tony loves to inspire people to claim their distinct narrative of life so they brave the way they connect with themselves and with others when creating meaning of their place in this world.