What if new teacher preparation and ongoing professional development programs used incarcerated youth as “thought partners” to help overcome the challenges of teaching reading? Hilderbrand has achieved something few others have accomplished: He
has led five different types of urban schools with difficult learning environments to achieve significant improvements. He has participated in three major reform efforts to turn around schools. Hilderbrand has directed educational programs in the City of Philadelphia’s
six major correctional facilities and also designed two high school models for the expelled student population. Hilderbrand’s most notable
accomplishment was the creation of a successful school model for incarcerated juveniles in the Philadelphia correctional facilities. His book,
Unlocking Potential: Organizing a School Inside a Prison, examines urban education from a perspective that is grossly underrepresented in
national debates, namely, incarcerated students. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx