‘Powerful’: CMS grad returns as teacher, continues program important to him

CHARLOTTE — One Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools student returned to teach and continue a program he loved as a child.

Maleak Whitaker graduated from West Charlotte High School, an experience he said he loved. And he always knew he was meant to be a teacher.

“As long as I could remember, when I was younger, I would act like the teddy bears or, you know, my little cousins, were students,” he said. “My grandmother, she had bought me a desk. When I was younger, I would act like, ‘Oh, this is my teacher desk.’”

Now, Whitaker has a real desk and real students at Hopewell High School, where he teaches science.

“It’s going amazing,” he said. “I absolutely love teaching.”

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He said many of his teachers growing up, and his mom, inspired him. Whitaker said his mother is the one who really instilled his love of education.

Seeing teachers who looked like him was inspiring. And now he serves as that example for his students.

“Seeing someone that looked like myself, a black male coming into them, teaching them with science, which is not likely to have a black male educator, that’s powerful,” Whitaker said.

Another building block that got him to where he is today was Freedom School Partners, a summer literacy program.

Whitaker’s mom signed him up for the program when he was in elementary school.

Now, he volunteers with the non-profit, which he says is a full-circle, real-life reminder of the village it takes to raise children. And how early investments can pay off.

“Seeing some students like, ‘Wow, Mr. Malaek, I’m excited to be here. I never experienced it before,’” he said. “So it’s always fun to see how... their eyes shine.”

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