When Yamaka Bracey talks about her school, she doesn’t call it a building.
She calls it a family.
At Campus Elementary in Grand Rapids, that belief shapes everything from how she supports teachers to how she celebrates students. It’s why staff members want to stay. It’s why families trust the school. And it’s why Yamaka approaches leadership much the same way she approached teaching: by making sure people feel seen, valued, and capable of more than they realize.
“We are family,” she says simply. “That’s who we are.”
Called to Education
For Yamaka, education was never just a career choice.
It was part of her upbringing.
Her mother worked as a teacher and served in various roles throughout Grand Rapids Public Schools. Her father was a pastor and counselor. Growing up, she spent her days surrounded by people dedicated to helping others learn, grow, and navigate life’s challenges.
“As a child, I would rush home and play school with my teddy bears,” she recalls. “I would line them up and teach them, hand out papers, and do all the things my teachers did.”
Long before she stepped into a classroom, she already knew where she belonged.
That sense of purpose only deepened through church involvement, teaching youth classes, and working alongside children and adults in her community.
“I knew as a child that I would be an educator.”
Building a Classroom That Felt Like Home
As a teacher, Yamaka wanted students to feel something more than academic success.
She wanted them to feel they belonged.
“My classroom was a home,” she says. “We had our good, bad, and ugly moments, but we stayed together, worked together, and encouraged each other like a family.”
Students were encouraged to take risks, make mistakes, build confidence, and discover their strengths. Visitors regularly stopped by to observe the student-led culture she had created.
Her impact did not go unnoticed.
Yamaka was eventually named Teacher of the Year by her community, a recognition she still considers one of her proudest accomplishments.
But for her, success was never about awards.
It was about helping students believe in what was possible for themselves.
The Student She Never Forgot
One student, whom we’ll call Diana, continues to stay with her years later.
Diana struggled with reading and often spent her free time trying to improve on her own. One day, Yamaka noticed and asked how she was doing.
The student admitted she dreamed of going to college but was afraid to ask for help.
Together, they began meeting several times a week during lunch and recess to work on reading skills.
“We worked hard together,” Yamaka says.
As Diana’s confidence grew, so did her academic skills. But during a parent conference, Yamaka learned about a challenge much bigger than reading.
When she shared Diana’s progress and college aspirations, the student’s father firmly stated that women in their family did not go to college. Instead, he expected Diana to care for the men in her family and eventually become a wife and homemaker.
The conversation devastated Diana.
“It was hard,” Yamaka remembers. “I saw a young lady who was destined to be someone, crying out to be different and break traditions.”
The next day, Diana returned and asked to continue working together.
Yamaka agreed.
To this day, she wonders where Diana’s journey has taken her.
“I wish I could find her today and see all she has accomplished.”
Becoming a Principal
Despite her success in the classroom, Yamaka never imagined becoming a school leader.
That changed when her assistant principal was promoted and insisted Yamaka apply to become her assistant principal.
At first, she said no.
“I didn’t feel like I looked like the principals around me,” she says. “I didn’t talk like them either. I didn’t know if I was qualified.”
But someone else saw leadership potential before she saw it herself.
After a challenging interview process, she accepted the position and began learning what leadership truly required.
“It was hard removing my teacher hat and putting on my principal hat,” she says. “That was probably the hardest part.”
Over time, however, she discovered that leadership wasn’t separate from teaching.
It was an extension of it.
“In the classroom, I was responsible for my students and everyone connected to them. As a principal, my family just became bigger.”
Leading with Teachers in Mind
Today, Yamaka serves as principal of Campus Elementary, where she remains deeply connected to the realities teachers face every day.
“The classroom is where the heart is,” she says. “It’s where most of the work is done and where miracles happen.”
Her leadership philosophy centers on relationships.
She believes great leaders know their people, understand their strengths, and create conditions where they can thrive.
Teachers are celebrated through staff committees, appreciation efforts, social gatherings, and intentional opportunities for feedback and leadership.
“Teachers are humans first,” she says. “Sometimes adults need to be met where they are too.”
That approach has helped create a culture where people want to stay.
“I have a waiting list of people who want to be part of our family, our team, our building,” she says. “They don’t leave. They want to be here.”
That culture has not gone unnoticed by staff.
Scholar Success Coordinator Corey Edwards describes Yamaka as a consistent and uplifting leader who is always willing to support her team.
“When support is needed, she shares and is very supportive,” he says. “When staff feels down, she’s there to help.”
He also points to the way she returned from a leave of absence as an example of her leadership.
“She didn’t just rush back in to take control,” Edwards recalls. “She eased her way in and respected the decisions we made as a staff.”
Results Built Through Relationships
The culture at Campus Elementary is translating into measurable success.
Under Yamaka’s leadership, student performance has risen from below district averages to above district averages, and benchmark assessment results have more than tripled.
For Yamaka, however, the numbers tell only part of the story.
She sees success in the trust her staff has built, the confidence students develop, and the sense of belonging families feel when they walk through the doors.
“Growth is achieved best in numbers,” she says. “Numbers that trust, plan, and build together.”
Growing Through TeachMichigan
As a participant in TeachMichigan’s Sitting Leaders Fellowship, Yamaka found a community that reinforced what she already believed: leadership can be both authentic and vulnerable.
“TeachMichigan has supported me beyond words,” she says. “It gave me a platform to be me, ask the hard questions, and not feel alone in this work.”
The experience strengthened her confidence as a leader and reminded her that educators across Michigan are working toward the same goal.
“That there is support out here and people who are rooting for change with action.”
Leading with Faith and Purpose
When challenges arise, Yamaka returns to the same belief that has guided her since childhood.
This work is her calling.
Whether she is supporting teachers, celebrating students, or navigating difficult decisions, she relies on faith, family, and the conviction that she is exactly where she is meant to be.
“I am enough,” she says. “I got this.”
And every day at Campus Elementary, she helps students and educators believe the same about themselves.
Yamaka Bracey
Yamaka Bracey is the principal of Campus Elementary in Grand Rapids and a TeachMichigan Sitting Leaders Fellow. A former Teacher of the Year honoree, she is known for building strong school communities rooted in relationships, trust, and high expectations. Her leadership philosophy centers on creating a family-like culture where both students and educators feel seen, supported, and empowered to succeed.
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