• Urban Educator logo

Urban Educators Recognized by Yale University

  • Anthony Hall has been a school counselor with Pittsburgh Public Schools for five years and a counselor at the district’s Allderdice High School for the past three years. He has a caseload of 350 students and also serves as advisor for the school’s African American Center for Advanced Studies Committee, which includes 200 students.

    Hall’s efforts in support of students were recently commended by Yale University, which selected him to receive the 2019 Yale Educator Award, an honor that recognizes outstanding educators from around the world who have helped and inspired Yale students to achieve at high levels.

    Gianna Griffin, left, nominated Anthony Hall for the 2019 Yale Urban Educator Award.

    Students matriculating at Yale are invited to nominate high school teachers and counselors who have motivated and supported them. Award recipients are selected by a committee of Yale admissions officers, who this year selected 55 teachers and 18 counselors, out of 311 nominees.

    Hall was nominated by former Allderdice student Gianna Griffin, who was the chair of the African American Center of Advanced Studies. In an email to the Urban Educator, Hall wrote that Griffin is the truest definition of a holistic student and a leader, and he said he is thankful and humbled to have been recognized for such an award. 

    “I have dedicated my life to serving the Pittsburgh community and its youth, so it is a great feeling when you directly impact a student to the degree that Gianna has expressed to the Yale Committee,” wrote Hall. “I truly feel as if this is an award for our department, our school, and Pittsburgh Public School district.”

    Allderdice Principal James McCoy views Hall as much more than a counselor. “He is a leader, an adviser and a resource at Pittsburgh Allderdice,” McCoy said in a press release. “We are thrilled to learn that Yale University also recognizes his stellar commitment to educating and counseling our students.”

    In addition to Hall, Yale also recognized urban school educators from Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Des Moines Public Schools, Alabama’s Birmingham City Schools, Louisville’s Jefferson County Public Schools, Tennessee’s Metro Nashville Public Schools and New York City.