Sakia Beard Brinkley
Sakia Beard Brinkley has served as principal of Richard R. Wright Elementary School since 2021. In this role, she has led a sustained effort to improve academic achievement, school climate, and community engagement for one of Philadelphia’s most historically under-resourced school communities.
Under her leadership, Richard R. Wright has demonstrated meaningful and measurable growth across key academic and operational indicators, as reflected in the School District of Philadelphia’s 2024–2025 SPOTlight report. Student attendance grew from 25.1% in 2021–2022 to 56.0% in 2024–2025, a remarkable 30.9 percentage-point gain over three years, meeting District targets. Grade 3–8 Math proficiency more than quadrupled from 3.9% in 2021–2022 to 16.4% in 2024–2025, a 12.5 percentage-point improvement over three years, with 2024–2025 results meeting District targets. Grade 3 Math proficiency surged from 4.6% in 2021–2022 to 21.6% in 2024–2025, a 17 percentage-point three-year gain, also meeting targets. Grade 3–8 Reading proficiency improved from 10.6% in 2021–2022 to 11.9% in 2024–2025, reflecting a 1.3 percentage-point gain over three years with continued year-over-year growth. Teacher attendance likewise improved from 78.6% in 2021–2022 to 87.0% in 2024–2025, an 8.4 percentage-point three-year gain, reflecting a strengthened school culture and professional community.
Mrs. Beard Brinkley is the 2026 recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Principal, one of the most prestigious honors in the School District of Philadelphia, presented annually by the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation.
Mrs. Beard Brinkley has secured and facilitated significant funding and partnerships that directly benefit Wright’s students, families, and physical campus. Through the office of Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-3rd Congressional District), Richard R. Wright Elementary School was awarded $850,000 in federal Community Project Funding for schoolyard improvements, infrastructure upgrades, and equipment. Richard R. Wright is also among the Philadelphia elementary schools selected to participate in Temple University’s Philadelphia Healthy and Safe Schools (PHASeS) program, which received $1.5 million in federal funding secured through the Department of Justice’s Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Act. The PHASeS program works to build awareness of trauma’s impact on school communities, integrate trauma-sensitivity into professional practice, and sustain a culture of wellness through school-wide policies and practices. As a recipient of the Lindback Award, her school community will additionally receive a $20,000 stipend administered through the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia.
In addition to her school leadership, Mrs. Beard Brinkley serves as director of the LITE Program for Read to Succeed Philadelphia, contributing to system-wide efforts to develop and support literacy across the city.
Mrs. Beard Brinkley’s career in education spans more than 15 years of service to the School District of Philadelphia, beginning in 2009. She has served as a 3rd and 4th grade classroom teacher, school-based teacher leader, and assistant principal before assuming her current role as principal in 2021.
Mrs. Beard Brinkley was raised in South Carolina, relocated to Pennsylvania at age 16, and is a graduate of William Penn Senior High School in York, PA.