Christiaan Summerhill

Christiaan is a member of the African Studies faculty where they work on refining and adapting the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary curriculum to the evolving needs of ALA students.

As a member of the ALA community Christiaan teaches courses in the humanities through the African Studies department. He teaches students to engage with relevant texts through class discussions and analytical writing. He is particularly excited about the following aspect of the African Studies Understandings: “By examining their own experiences and engaging with the discipline(s), students will produce knowledge that contributes to re-centering African voices.” He seeks to empower students to explore their own voices through their unique experiences on the continent.

Prior to joining ALA, Christiaan taught Psychology & World History at an IB schools in Cameroon and Czechia. In Czechia he served as a social emotional counselor, resident advisor, and basketball coach. In Cameroon, he is proud to have coached the varsity boys basketball team to a West African title in their first trip to the tournament in Lagos in 2018. Prior to his international experience, he taught humanities for 10 years in Boston Public Schools from 7th-12th grades. He is served in various roles from classroom teacher to Assistant Dean of Students at Another Course to College, to leading the History Department at The English High School. He coached academic teams from Policy Debate to Mock Trial, as well as sports teams from Basketball to American Football.

Christiaan is the site director for the Global Online Academy, an online catalogue of elective courses ALA students can take along with the ALA core curriculum and Cambridge courses. He is a Senior Advisor providing support to Advisors in ALA’s Advisory program. He also mentors five students of his own.

Expertise

Communication
Curriculum Development
Classroom Management
Student Assessment
Student Engagement

Education

Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology, Morehouse College c/o 2005
Master’s of Education, University of Massachusetts – Boston c/o 2007

Publications

The Importance of Recruiting and Retaining Teachers of Color in All Schools, Fall 2016

Courses

African Studies I
African Philosophy (co taught with Dean Hatim)
AP US History (SEGL)