Who We Are

Catayah Clark is a veteran South Carolina educator with more than two decades of experience in school improvement, innovation, and expanding opportunities for young people. She began her career as a high school English teacher in a technology magnet program, where she was part of early work exploring technology integration and used research, multimedia, and media production to deepen student learning. Since then, her career has spanned traditional public schools, statewide virtual charter schools, and the South Carolina Department of Education. She has served as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, high school principal, and state-level instructional leader, giving her a broad perspective on how South Carolina's youth experience education and how schools and communities can work together to strengthen learning. Catayah founded ELEVATE Carolina to build on that experience and explore what becomes possible when communities are more intentionally engaged in the learning and development of young people. Her work has also taken her beyond South Carolina, traveling across 10 states to observe learner-centered practices and learning ecosystems in action in schools and community organizations. Through her partnership with Education Reimagined, she has contributed to research examining the impact of learner-centered education on young people with learning differences and research examining contributing conditions impacting ecosystem development. Catayah is a member of Education Reimagined's Learner-Centered Ecosystem Legacy Lab and is currently contributing to research on policy principles for learner-centered ecosystems. Catayah holds a B.A. in English and master’s degrees in Secondary Education and Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. She is a certified South Carolina educator and school leader. She also serves as Board Membership Co-Chair for the South Carolina Career Development Association and is a McLeod Society Fellow and Big Picture Learning Fellow.