About
Employee Directory
Cherkira Lashley
- Upper School Dean
- 718-836-9800 x6048
- Dyker Heights
- Upper School
“Our greatest accomplishments lie on the other side of our greatest failures. I want the students I serve to forgive themselves for their failures and create personal systems of accountability to cement their success. I hope that my students come to know and love themselves more deeply on their educational journey.”
Cherkira Lashley joined Poly in 2023 as an Upper School Dean. She comes to us from Friends Academy, where she taught English, coached Varsity Girls’ Basketball, and served as a junior class dean. In her first year at Friends, she led the Girls’ Basketball team to the Nassau County Semifinals. Her passion to educate and coach stretched beyond Friends as she also served as the Director of the Brooklyn Youth Sports Club Summer Program designed to provide fitness, personal development, leadership training, mindfulness, and college guidance to young women who aspire to play college basketball. Prior to Friends and BKYSC, Cherkira served as an English teacher at Advanced Math and Science III, while earning a MA in Adolescent Education at Relay Graduate School for Education. In 2015, she received her BA in English and African American studies from Wesleyan University, where she was a member of the women’s basketball team and Slam poetry team.
As the daughter of pastors, Cherkira comes from a family of educators and storytellers, which is the root of her passion for education and the oral word.
Athletics Deans