dr. raja

Kadhir Raja was born in Chicago in 1981 to Thiru and Bhagu Rajagopal. Dr. Raja is the son of immigrants from Tamil Nadu, South India. His family is originally part of the Tamil speaking Dravidian caste of South India. This population is part of the African Diaspora that founded the original civilization known today as India. Dr. Raja was greatly inspired by his parents throughout his life. His father always preached the importance of helping others and through his own journey of healing people as a doctor. Dr. Raja was also influenced by his grandfather who was arrested in the 1960s for advocating for the educational rights of the Tamil caste of South India. Dr. Raja was inspired to fight for marginalized populations as a result of his family’s history of activism. Born in South Chicago in the 1980s, he was also exposed to many youth who saw their talent and potential being wasted due to the lure of the streets, disengaging instruction, toxic school culture and a lack of culturally responsive role models. A family history of fighting for justice and the experience of witnessing other youth of color being pushed out of the education system into a vicious cycle of dropping out, incarceration and poverty motivated Dr. Raja to be an advocate for youth in urban communities.

During elementary school, Dr. Raja was encouraged by his parents to take honors classes also known as “GATE” classes. Unfortunately, he was not a good test taker and performed poorly on his “standardized tests of intelligence.” As a result, he was only allowed to take “general” classes where there was a mixture of students who were self-motivated as well as students who had behavioral challenges and needed extra help. Dr. Raja was told that he was “not smart” enough to take GATE class where “college-bound” students were found. This notion that he was not smart was further reinforced in middle school. At 12 years old, Dr. Raja took his first algebra class. Within 2 months of taking algebra, he realized that he was failing. He could not earn anything above a “D-” in his math class. He did not understand the abstract language of “x, y, and z” and cried every time he saw the quadratic formula. Dr. Raja failed all his algebra tests and believed that math and school was not for him.

It was at this time that his mother, Bhagavathy, got involved and realized that Dr. Raja needed help. His mother would not allow him to accept an “F” in math class and more importantly internalize the notion that he was “dumb.” She met with the teacher. But that did not really help. His mother immediately starting trying to understand the algebra book herself. She recalled the ways in which she was taught mathematics in her home country, India. His mother even tried to do algebra problems herself and pretend that she had to explain the math to her son in a language he could understand. Dr. Raja's mother became his mentor and teacher. She motivated him and refused to allow him to accept failure despite him being demoralized and bewildered by the foreign language of algebra. Soon, his mother began teaching him algebra using stories, analogies, metaphors, and language that he could understand. She was teaching in a way that her “student” could understand. Slowly, Dr. Raja began learning the math and improving his grades. He began feeling smart and that he was capable of succeeding in a challenging class and that he finally “belonged with the smart kids.” She made him believe he was smart! At the end of the school year, Dr. Raja earned an “A” in his math class. Little did he know that, through the mentorship of his mother, the taste of success and overcoming low self-esteem and confusion in a math class would change his life and transform thousands of other lives.

During his college years at UC Berkeley, Dr. Raja was mentored by Dr. Victor Rios, who served as his Assistant Professor in an Ethnic Studies class. Dr. Rios helped Dr. Raja to realize his gift as a teacher and liberator for inner city youth of color. As a result of the guidance he received from Dr. Rios, Dr. Raja defied his family’s expectations for him to become a medical doctor and instead pursued teaching. Dr. Raja began his teaching career in 2004, as a History Teacher at a middle school in the Sobrante Park neighborhood of East Oakland. In 2005, Dr. Raja taught at a continuation school on the border of West Oakland and South Berkeley. Between 2006-2013, Dr. Raja served as a Special Education teacher and Mathematics teacher at Grant High School, located in the urban Del Paso Heights neighborhood of North Sacramento. During these 7 years, Dr. Raja was part of uplifting thousands of students from a history of failure in algebra to success. Failure in algebra was documented as the #1 trigger of dropouts in America. As a teacher, Dr. Raja helped thousands of low-income, urban students who had a history of failing in math to consistently succeed on all standardized assessments and close the achievement gap in terms of race and income. Dr. Raja’s students at Grant High School shared their testimonies of success with educators all over the nation. The students’ stories of success were featured in the documentary, “Beating the Odds.” Dr. Raja’s instructional model, CREATE, was also captured in his book, Create Success: Unlocking the Potential of Urban Youth, published by ASCD. The CREATE pedagogy was shared through the book with over 50,000 educators across the world. Dr. Raja’s instructional approach was also highlighted as a solution to the dropout crisis in the award-winning documentary, “Pushouts,” featuring Dr. Victor Rios. As a result of his success and impact as an educator, Dr. Raja was named, out of 300,000 teachers, by the California Department of Education, (CDE) as 2011 California State Teacher of the Year.

Between 2011-2013, Dr. Raja launched the CREATE Academy at Grant High School. This school within a school, uplifted hundreds of the most “at promise” 9th grade students from a history of failure to success. The average GPA of these 9th graders rose from a 0.6 GPA to a 2.5 GPA. The 9th grade students in the CREATE Academy also earned the highest standardized test scores at Grant High. The CREATE Academy was based on effective instruction and culturally responsive mentorship for every student. The CREATE Academy was studied and recognized by UC Davis, Twin Rivers Unified School District, and the Western Association of School Accreditation (WASC) as a school-wide model for increasing graduation rates and reducing attrition rates, The CREATE Academy was visited by hundreds of educators across the state and also became the subject of a documentary, “Solving the Inequality,” produced by the Sierra Health Foundation. Dr. Raja presented the CREATE Academy model at many national conferences as a model for solving the dropout crisis and improving urban student achievement and wellness. Furthermore, Dr. Raja served as a math instructor in the maximum security division of Juvenile Hall in Sacramento.

During 2013-2017, Dr. Raja served at Grant High School as a Vice Principal. As an administrator, Dr. Raja developed a system of teacher support, aggressive and early student intervention, and accountability for all staff and students that led to significant improvement in quality of instruction, increase in percent of students A-G eligible, decrease in students' failure rates in teacher's classrooms, decrease in suspension rates, and improvement in students' attendance. In 2018-2019, Dr. Raja was the Vice Principal at Castori Elementary School in Del Paso Heights. Dr. Raja launched the Handz on Mentors (HOM) program which ensured that every student at Castori Elementary School had a culturally responsive mentor on campus. As a result of his leadership and the HOM program, Castori witnessed a drop in suspensions from 161 to 25 in just 1 year. Dr. Raja was promoted to serving as Principal at Oakdale K-8 School in North Sacramento. In 1 year, despite the effects of the pandemic, Dr. Raja secured a $1 million grant and instituted the Handz on Mentor program at Oakdale. Every child at Oakdale had a culturally responsive adult advocate on campus every day. Within a few months, Dr. Raja helped to transform the culture of Oakdale School from a climate of discipline issues to a climate of pride and student pride and achievement. In 2022, Dr. Raja wrote Handz on Mentors, as a handbook to guide schools in their implementation of the school-wide mentoring program.

Currently, Dr. Raja is planning the birth of Miracle University. This high school will attract those 5000 9th grade students in Sacramento who, based on their middle school GPA and attendance, are 75% likely to drop out of school. Miracle University will succeed because of its unwavering focus on the two critical elements of student success: Effective instruction and socio- emotional support for every student. The CREATE model will serve as a foundation for instruction. The Handz on Mentors program will ensure that every child at Miracle University feels cared for by a culturally responsive mentor on campus every day. As a result of providing effective instruction, socio-emotional support, a culture of rigor and recognition, internships, and an environment grounded in safety and wellness, Miracle University will ensure every child who was once at risk of being pushed out of school, graduates in 4 years with a high school diploma, and admission into either a 4 year college or a trade school. Furthermore, Miracle University will serve as a haven for achievement and wellness for all 4,000 9th grade students in Sacramento who are most at risk of dropping out. The transformation of 4,000 potential dropouts into productive citizens with a college degree or certificate from a trade school, will impact the health and wellness of the entire city of Sacramento.

Dr. Raja also serves as a consultant on solutions for urban schools and is part of Scholar System founded by Dr Victor Rios (his mentor and professor). He is married to Tamara Eugene-Raja-Raja. Tamara is a Dance/Performing Arts teacher and Dance coach at Grant High School in Sacramento. Tamara is also a spiritual partner, best friend and a helpmate in the journey of launching the Miracle University. Dr. Raja enjoys playing all sports and learning languages. He speak 5 different languages. He is also a committed member of the Center of Praise Church in Sacramento and participates in the Men’s Leadership group.