Build Your Career at Mastery: Dana Martin - Mastery Charter School
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Build Your Career at Mastery: Dana Martin

Assistant Principal of Postsecondary Strategy
Lenfest Campus

Dana Martin, Assistant Principal of Postsecondary Strategy at Mastery’s Lenfest Campus, began her career at Mastery as a freshman at Temple University, when she served as a work-study classroom assistant. She fell in love with the classroom and pursued a career working with students, returning to Mastery nearly 10 years later as a college coordinator. Two promotions and 14 years later, she has directly seen how Mastery has impacted the lives of students, including her own daughter. While Dana says that Mastery has brought out the very best in her daughter, one could argue that Mastery has done the same for her. Read more about Dana’s Mastery journey in the Q&A below.  

How has Mastery helped you in your career development?

The professional opportunities I have been offered as a Mastery employee have been unmatched in my professional career. The growth opportunities made available to me have helped to develop my postsecondary knowledge base and educational pedagogy, while improving my community engagement and student advocacy efforts. Aside from the in-house professional development opportunities, I have had content specific training on a state and national level through the Mastery connections developed. I have had the opportunity to work closely with some of the most intelligent educators in the city of Philadelphia but have also been provided meaningful experiences and learning opportunities that I have used to broaden my understanding of postsecondary work. 

What impact do you make as a leader?

I try to lead by example and with understanding. Currently, I help to drive the postsecondary pathways vision at my campus and within the organization. After serving as a college advisor for 11 years, I had a front row seat to understanding the goals our students had for their future and the harsh realities they faced after graduation. I help our teaching staff understand the connection between what takes place in their classes and the impact it has on our students’ options after Mastery. My job is to “pull back the curtain” and provide our staff with the postsecondary data that impacts all of our students and their future options. My role is directly connected with Mastery’s mission and reminds me that Mastery is deeply invested in the postsecondary success for our students. 

What keeps you at Mastery?

I believe in what Mastery can do for its students, employees, and the families it serves and have in turn brought members of my own family into the Mastery world. In my 14th school year with Mastery, I can say that I have been treated with the utmost respect. Being a Mastery employee has afforded me the professional development, training, and experience to grow confidently. I know that I have put in the work like so many of us at Mastery, but I have felt valued at times when I otherwise wouldn’t have. If I know nothing else, I know that I have been exposed to some of the most talented individuals in education and some of the best children in Philadelphia. I know that I can entrust my children to the educators at Mastery and that honestly is the single most important factor in why I will continue to choose Mastery.