Former Camden principal heralded for pandemic outreach has started a cross-country mission to continue her work

During the pandemic, Fatihah Abdur-Rahman tried to help her students cope with everyday stress complicated by virtual learning.

As principal of Forest Hill Elementary in Camden, she read stories to students in the park, distributed free books and water ice, and equipped them with gift bags she dubbed “calming bags” to help them deal with a time like no other. Her Harambee program, which means “let’s pull together” in Swahili, offered the kids empowering messages, songs, and cheers to combat the isolation that many students were experiencing.

Her efforts landed Abdur-Rahman a National LifeChanger of the Year award for making a difference in the lives of students. She and the school received $5,000 each.

Now, Abdur-Rahman, 47, of Sicklerville, has embarked this summer on a journey to visit every state, continuing the work she started in Camden and sharing her story as a teenage single mother to encourage others.

“I’m driving with a purpose,” she said in an interview. “I’m doing what God has called me to do.”

Now director of school support for the Achievement Network in Hartford, Conn., where she helps principals strive for educational equity in underserved schools, Abdur-Rahman began her road trip earlier this month with stops in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. She visited the state capitals and homeless shelters for women and children. She hopes to visit the New England states in her next trek, perhaps as she travels for her job, reaching all 50 states by the time she’s 50.

She especially enjoys sharing her story with women who find themselves in the same circumstances that she experienced three decades ago as a homeless teen in Camden. It is the same story that she told her students at Forest Hill for years.

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”I’m a living witness,” she said. “Just to share my story and give a message of hope is very rewarding.”

Abdur-Rahman is using part of her prize money to help pay for the trips. The balance will go toward her fund that awards $1,000 “Rise Up” scholarships to teenage mothers.

Sharon Ritz, a classroom volunteer at Forest Hill, nominated Abdur-Rahman for the LifeChanger award sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation. The program recognizes educators who have made a beneficial difference in the lives of students.

Abdur-Rahman received one of five top awards for her work to support students‘ social and emotional learning during the pandemic, selected from among more than 850 nominations across the country.

“Fatihah is an unstoppable force for good,” Ritz said in her nomination. “She has defied odds to become a leader, both in the community and in her school.”

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Abdur-Rahman was credited with finding new ways to support her already struggling school during remote learning. Most of the 300 K-5 students were economically disadvantaged and lagged academically.

To keep students connected, she shifted her Harambee program online. Her iServe program distributed more than 1,000 calming bags, which included Play-Doh, slime, books, and puzzles.

”If every school had at least one Fatihah, it would be a world of difference,” said Marguerite Hall, of Winslow, a LifeChanger of the Year representative. “She’s an inspiration to the kids.”

During her tenure at Forest Hill, Abdur-Rahman openly talked about what she overcame to push students to excel, despite their challenges in the poor city.

She had her first child when she was 17, and a second daughter two years later. The family ended up without anyplace to live, surviving on the kindness of relatives who took them in. She vowed to turn her life around and decided to become a teacher.

After obtaining a bachelor’s in elementary education and later two master’s degrees, she landed a teaching position at Parkside Elementary, and later was selected by her colleagues as Teacher of the Year for five straight years. She had a stint as an assistant principal teacher at the city’s Molina Upper Elementary school, and became principal at Forest Hill in 2018.

”She definitely has left her mark. She left a legacy,” Ritz said. “She’s just a fabulous human being.”