By Goundo Gueye
AFRO Intern
Francis Nnanna, a school counselor in Maryland, believes Black educators play an important role in helping students feel seen and supported.
Nnanna’s path into education is not a common one. After studying sociology in college and working in finance for a short time, he realized the job was not the right fit. He later became a teacher before earning a graduate degree in school counseling, where he found a career focused on helping students grow.
“My first career wasn’t education, but once I stepped into a school, I realized that’s where I was supposed to be,” Nnanna says.
Early in his career, Nnanna taught at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, where many of the students, teachers and school leaders are Black. He says working with Black students and educators showed him how important representation is and how much it helps students connect with the people teaching them.
“Teaching is an art, and it’s all about connection,” Nnanna says. “The more Black educators we have, the more our students connect with the lessons, the work and the people teaching them.”
As a school counselor, Nnanna says helping students feel like they belong is just as important as helping them do well in school. According to the American School Counselor Association, roughly 11 percent of its members identified as Black or African American in 2020. In 2025, that number declined to 8 percent.
Nnanna believes students are more confident when they trust the adults around them and see people who look like them in leadership positions. He also believes that Black representation in education creates strong relationships and access to opportunities students need to succeed both inside and outside the classroom.
“There isn’t a profession where Black students don’t belong,” Nnanna says. “We are needed in leadership spaces.”
Nnanna says it’s important to understand that Black students are not all the same and that every community has different needs. Instead of making assumptions, he believes educators should spend time listening to students and learning about the communities they serve.
Looking ahead, Nnanna hopes schools continue to expand career and education-related opportunities for students to earn college credits while they are still in high school. He believes these programs can prepare students for future careers while helping reduce the cost of college.
Nnanna encourages educators to do what they can for the next generation of students.
“Think about what you wish you had when you were a student,” Nnanna says. “Then become the person who provides that for someone else.”
