Wayne D. Simmons
Chief Operating Officer/Culture-Climate Consultant (National Restorative Practices Trainer)
Wayne D. Simmons joins TransEnDence Educational Partners as Chief Operating Officer, leveraging over eighteen years of education and urban programming oversight to the organization. In his capacity as COO, Wayne will oversee organizational logistics with school and district partners. Wayne will also bring to bear his expertise as a Nationally Certified Trainer for the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) for TranscEnDence as he works with schools and districts to reshape school and campus culture in a manner that provides the best outcomes for urban students who are often pushed into the school to prison pipeline through punitive discipline practices.
Most recently Wayne has worked alongside the Chief Executive Officer as a national consultant focused on shifting culture-climate in urban schools in underserved communities. Wayne has also served as Assistant Principal of Logistics, Operations and Campus Culture for a large comprehensive high school in Gary, Indiana. He was also Assistant to the Dean for Noble Street Charter Schools in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to that experience Wayne led community-based programs for the Urban League of Broward County, and many other service-oriented organizations across the country.
A skilled leader in organizational and planning skills, Wayne brings a plethora of experience inclusive of grant writing, curricula implementation, student recruitment/advising, student management, youth programming and program design/development for Tier II and III students in crisis. He brings extensive experience managing and leading culture-climate and disciplinary models in the K-12 charter school arena. Wayne’s multi-faceted background in launching programs and start-up processes, grounded by a background of strong operations skills will be leveraged as TranscEnDence leads the charge in school turn-around supports, leadership development, content coaching, and strategic advising around culture-climate shifts necessary to build a culture of achievement. With a proven track record of consistently increasing organizational performance, Wayne will serve as strategic advisor to school and district officials during the implementation of TranscEnDence program offerings.
As a culture-climate expert, Wayne brings his expertise as a Restorative Practices Trainer as one arm of TranscEnDence’s support model. His expertise in coaching, mentoring, and relationship building with the most challenging students in urban settings will prove invaluable to districts and schools across the country. Well-versed in interpersonal strategies to build long term relationships with youth, Wayne has a solid ability to plan and conduct training sessions to educate groups on teaching youth effective life/social skills. Wayne also brings expertise in case management for school-aged students, inclusive of teaching job readiness courses, curriculum development, facilitating educational advancement programs to remove barriers for students; alongside providing counseling and mentoring supports for students with the greatest needs.
Wayne holds a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature from Dillard University, a Master’s of Science in Management with a Specialization in Sports Administration from St. Thomas University, and is in the final semester of completing a Master’s of Science in Educational Administration from Prairie View A&M University. Wayne is a proud member of Beta Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, and the Owner and Creative Director of The Crimson Parlor.