Serving the academic community as an educational leader for nearly 20 years and as a mother for over 24 years (because that counts too!), Akira M. LeBlanc, or Kira as she is referred to by her friends, specializes in the learning needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students and the educators who support them.

Her emphasis on the implementation of culturally responsive and sustaining practices stems from her own multicultural background as an African-American Creole from New Orleans, Louisiana. As an adolescent attending one of America’s urban public high schools, she realized at a tender age the plight of ethnically diverse students as they wrestled with cultural and linguistic differences between their home and school experiences. Intent to influence positive change through coaching areas such as elevated student engagement, meaningful academic discourse, and effective classroom management, she became a public school educator whose mission was and continues to be the integration of effective instructional practices for students of color. Her work in this capacity has led to several noteworthy accomplishments which include Outstanding Humanities Student of the Year (University of Hawai’i), Parent of the Year (Northside Karate School), Teacher of the Year (Spring ISD), and recipient of the SISD $10,000 Educational Leadership graduate scholarship.

In addition to educational consulting through her organization AML Education, Kira serves her community as the Secondary RtI Coordinator for High Schools in Spring ISD. In this capacity, she primarily supports campuses in their efforts to provide equitable and quality intervention experiences for students identified as at-risk of dropping out of school and/or in need of multi-tiered systems of academic and behavioral support.

Akira has proudly earned an AA in Early Childhood from Delgado College, a BA in Humanities/English from University of Hawai’i, an M.A. in Secondary Education from University of Phoenix concentrating in English Language Arts, and an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Houston Baptist University. Additionally, through her doctoral studies at Northcentral University, she currently researches teacher perspectives on the integration of culturally responsive teaching in a variety of intervention courses. Kira recently published The 7 Traits of Talented Teachers: Professional Genetics of Great Educators, a non-fiction work discussing the characteristics of talented teachers. She is also the host of the monthly online event "Ancestors of Pedagogical Greatness: A Panel" which can be viewed @The 7 Traits of Talented Teachers Facebook page.