About
Ernest A. Logan worked for nearly 25 years in the New York City public schools, many of them as a CSA member, before taking a leave of absence to join CSA's staff in 1997 as a field service representative. Rising through the ranks, he was elected president in November 2006 by acclamation; his three-year term as CSA's 13th president began on February 1, 2007.Mr. Logan, the 11th of 13 children, was born in Harlem and raised in East New York to a family that valued education. His father, a college graduate and trained engineer, died when Mr. Logan was 8, a huge loss for the Logan family emotionally, but not spiritually; the older Mr. Logan and his wife had imbued their son with the importance of a college degree, family and faith, and his mother kept those values alive for her children despite the hardships they faced.
Mr. Logan remained focused on the future, graduating from Franklin K. Lane High School in 1969 and SUNY Cortland in 1973. He attended Baruch College/CUNY and received his master's degree in education. He began teaching English at P.S. 224, D-19, Brooklyn, soon after graduating from SUNY Cortland, and within five years he was a curriculum writer for the Office of Curriculum and Development. In 1983, he became the assistant principal at J.H.S. 263, D-23, Brooklyn, and in 1991 he was appointed as principal of I.S. 55, D-23.
As principal, he represented his CSA colleagues as the District 23 chair from 1993 until the fall of 1997 when he became CSA's director of community school districts and worked in the field enforcing the contract and protecting his colleagues' legal rights. In March 2000, the executive board chose Mr. Logan as first vice president to fill a vacancy created when Donald Singer, then-president of CSA, moved to work full time at the American Federation of School Administrators, the national union. A few months later, running with Jill Levy, he was elected executive vice president, a position he retained through the 2003 election. When Ms. Levy chose not to run in 2006, Mr. Logan won the presidency in an unopposed election. Mr. Logan is also the treasurer of AFSA and, as a member of the general executive board, chairs its finance committee.
As CSA president, he secured a contract for his Department of Education members that provided substantial salary increases and numerous reforms, including a rating system for principals that is tied into school performance and specific leadership competencies. Mr. Logan has repeatedly called for high standards and accountability from his members, and does not accept complaints that "the job is too tough." Mr. Logan has forged relationships with city and state officials, understanding the importance of "bridge building" as he calls it, to secure legislation, resources and policies that enable CSA members to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities.
In addition to his responsibilities at the union, Mr. Logan is a board member for New Visions for Public Schools and the New York Research Alliance. He belongs to numerous organizations, including St. John's University's Phi Delta Kappa chapter, the New York Alliance of Black School Educators, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the New York Academy of Public Education, 100 Black Men, and is a life member of the Association of Black Educators of New York. Most recently, Mr. Logan became a member of the Education Equality Project, founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton and New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.
He has served on the board of the Brownsville Community Development Corporation and is a deacon at the Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Harlem, where he also serves as the chairman of its board of trustees.
He has received numerous awards from labor and education groups, most recently from the Ridgewood Democratic Club in June 2009 as a Labor Leader of the Year. Mr. Logan and his wife, Beatrice, a high school guidance counselor, have established the Ernest A. Logan Scholarship at SUNY Cortland, which provides tuition assistance for New York City public school students.