Hilderbrand Pelzer III

bachelor's degree in physical education from Hampton University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Cheyney University. Later in his career, he received his Superintendent's Letter of Eligibility from Saint Joseph’s University. Hilderbrand has also completed the Leadership for Large-Scale Improvement training program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Harvard Institute for School Leadership.

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Throughout his career, Pelzer has been driven by a vision of improving students’ lives through quality education and meaningful mentorship. His passionate approach to being a change agent has earned him the respect and admiration of students and peers alike. Pelzer has achieved something that few educators have accomplished: he has led five different types of urban schools and has participated in three major reform efforts to turn schools around. He has also delivered curricula to students outside of a traditional academic setting. Pelzer has directed educational programs in correctional facilities, and he has also designed two high school models for expelled students. Among his accomplishments is the creation of a successful school model for serious high-risk youth offenders in Philadelphia’s prison system. His leadership challenged long-held, false assumptions about access to quality education for juveniles in adult correctional settings. He has designed an evidence-based model focusing on system level solutions to legal, logistical, and educational challenges in a correctional setting, clearly demonstrating his ability to strategize, focus on students, and collaborate in a large, complex, public-sector organization. Based on his well-established track record of expanding opportunities for students in highly challenging environments, particularly incarcerated youth, young people who have dropped out of school, and expelled students, he is actively sought out to speak, inspire, and motivate educational professionals and community leaders.

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Early in his career, Pelzer found inspiration in incarcerated youth. Working as a physical education teacher at the Bensalem Youth Development Center, a secure state facility serving incarcerated male juveniles, Pelzer realized that he was on the right career path. He developed a curiosity to learn why incarcerated youth were disconnected from their learning in school. As his experience and expertise grew, he quickly understood that he not only had to enact change to help incarcerated youth, but also inspire teachers who could make lasting change in classrooms and schools. He leverages the lessons that he learned at the Bensalem Youth Development Center and, later, in the Philadelphia prison system to help educators grasp the intricate connection between school and feelings of self-worth and juvenile delinquency.

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Throughout his career, Pelzer has drawn on his powerful educational foundation to build an exciting resume as an educator and leader. He has excelled as an assistant regional superintendent, a principal, an assistant principal, and a physical education teacher. These roles have fueled his passion for bringing quality education and mentorship to students in the most challenging life situations. He has profound and sought-after expertise and insight on K–12 education, leadership, equity, juvenile justice, and the intricate connection between school and negative feelings of self-worth and juvenile delinquency. Leveraging the unique lessons he has learned inside jails, Pelzer teaches his audience how to raise expectations for all students and how to connect them, hence demonstrating the importance of educators and school staff role to schools. 

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In his book, Unlocking Potential: Organizing a School Inside a Prison, Pelzer examines urban education from a perspective that is highly underrepresented in national discussions, namely incarcerated students. The book draws on his early professional experiences and his nationally recognized public education work within one of the nation’s largest jail systems, the Philadelphia prison system. He offers insights into the indispensable mental perspective and leadership strategies that he relied on to create a school model that cultivated a strong educational culture in Philadelphia’s six major correctional facilities. His invaluable insight on correctional education underscores the prominent role of education in all institutions that have children under their guidance. In addition, he has used multiple platforms all over the world to spread his words and spirit of hope. He has reached audiences at a wide range of venues from TEDx to conferences and public forums, and his perspective on the education of incarcerated youth and the inadequacy of their experiences with education is particularly profound and a highly sought-after topic by educators at all levels.