Leading with love is the curriculum for one West Philadelphia principal

WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Leading with love: that's the curriculum at a local elementary school in West Philadelphia where every day, the students walk in to school with a warm greeting and enough love to help them power through their day.

For the more than 500 students walking through the doors of Mann Elementary in West Philadelphia, assistant Principal Arnold Ford says feeling safe is a crucial catalyst for learning.

He believes when you lead with love, you build trust and that trust innately creates a feeling of safety.

"Teaching the content sometimes is about this much of the work. We can't teach math before we teach the kid, we can't teach reading before we teach the soul that's in front of us," said Ford.

Children in Philadelphia can no longer be sheltered from the violence, it's happening daily and sometimes at their doorstep.

"We're not blind to the climate of the city. Some students don't know what to expect on their walk home and we recognize that," said Ford.

As soon as they enter this building, they're reminded of their value as opposed to their trauma.

"Today you are a leader. I'm choosing to have an amazing day," said teacher Mickey McFadden when reciting the morning affirmations with his students.

Representation matters in the classroom and its why Ford has made it his mission to bring in more Black, male educators.

"In the country, Black male educators only comprise of about 2% of teachers. So we're trying to do the best we can to kind of counter that narrative," he said.

He did just that with the recent hiring of third grade teacher Mickey McFadden.

"I didn't know what teaching looked like. I didn't know what curriculum looked like. I just knew there were some kids that needed some belonging inside of school and there weren't many adults in the school building that looked like me," said McFadden.

The textbook lessons can be taught by any passionate educator, but those important life lessons, from someone familiar with their environment and backed by an immense amount of love is far more impactful.

"When you know someone really loves you and really cares about you, they can hold you accountable in ways that other people cannot," said Ford.

Because when you lead with love, you forge an unbreakable bond.