This is My Story
Africa is my home. America is my country. Goldsboro, NC is my native city. I am a citizen of the world.
Official Biography
Marcus Croom is a native of Goldsboro, NC where he graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1995. Because of an innovative opportunity called The Young Men of Distinction Showcase, which was organized by Darryl Woodard, founder of Wayne County Youth Outreach (now called Smart Choices for Youth), he won a four-year chancellor’s scholarship to Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). He attended ECSU for one year as a Music Education major. After completing his freshman year, he transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 2001, graduating with a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). As he was nearing graduation, he also earned K-12 certification from the state of North Carolina in Music Education.
In January 2006, Mr. Croom began Divinity School at Shaw University. While studying as a graduate student, in the summer of 2008, he traveled the country of Ghana, in West Africa, and also visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in East Africa to experience African religion and African culture as an African American. Upon his return, he wrote an insightful paper about his experience titled Two Tales and a Story: My Encounter with Africa and African Religions. He earned his Master of Divinity from Shaw University Divinity School in 2009 with a 3.93 GPA.
Seeking to refine his giftedness in education and in leadership, and thereby become positioned to "do more for more students," Mr. Croom began his Master of School Administration at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in the fall of 2009. In May of 2011, Mr. Croom completed his Master of School Administration at NCCU, graduating with the distinction of Magna Cum Laude. He is also licensed to practice as an educational leader by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
He is proud to have been raised in the Christian tradition of the United Holy Church of America, Inc. He grew up in New First Corinthian United Holy Church, Dudley NC, where his grandmother, Reverend Katherine Wells, was his pastor, and where his mother, Minister Rosalind Croom, assisted his grandmother in the pastorate in every possible way. Having the privilege to witness such outstanding models of Christian service and Christian commitment by two single mothers is immeasurable in importance to Marcus and has made an indelible mark on his life. From 2009 to 2011, he lead the Men’s Fellowship and the Social and Political Concerns Ministry, while serving as an associate minister at Fisher Memorial United Holy Church, Durham NC, where Bishop Elroy Lewis is pastor.
As an educator, Mr. Croom teaches in various fields. But his Music Education experience ranges from being a High School Band Director, a Middle School Band Director, and an Elementary School Music Teacher. He has practiced teaching at the full range of his K-12 Music certification.
Beyond his classroom at Eno Valley Elementary School, where he taught full-time from 2006 to 2011, and the annual yearlong music performances of his Kindergarten-Fifth Grade (K-5) students, Mr. Croom completed his Principal Internship in the 2010-2011 school year at Eno Valley in Durham, NC, where he also served Durham Public Schools as a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Coach. Further, Mr. Croom was also deeply committed to nurturing the African American males of Eno Valley and did so in various ways throughout his tenure there.
In the 2010-2011 school year, with the cooperation of the administration and the faculty of Eno Valley Elementary, he created and designed a scalable intervention experience to help fourth grade, African American males called Being Black Boys. The implementation of Being Black Boys was made possible through grant funding secured by the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) from the National Education Association’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative. Implementation of Being Black Boys began in November 2010 and the qualitative and quantitative data of this original intervention experience was announced in the spring of 2011. As expected, Being Black Boys demonstrated efficacy with improving the school and family outcomes of its 19 participants. During the 2011-2012 school year, Being Black Boys will expand to serve black boys in the fourth and fifth grades at Eno Valley. When asked about what he envisioned for the future of Being Black Boys, Mr. Croom stated, “I would love to see Being Black Boys replicated across Durham Public Schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in the coming years.”
In the fall of 2011, Mr. Croom continued his graduate studies to earn his Ph.D. in the Literacy, Language & Culture program at University of Illinois at Chicago, where Dr. Alfred Tatum, renowned scholar of African American male literacy, is his advisor.
Marcus is married to Marella, his lovely wife of nearly 15 years, and they have two remarkable young children. For Marcus, his most cherished work is that of being a dad.
Marcus understands ministry as being far more than a church designation; ministry is a living practice of service.
Official Biography
Marcus Croom is a native of Goldsboro, NC where he graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1995. Because of an innovative opportunity called The Young Men of Distinction Showcase, which was organized by Darryl Woodard, founder of Wayne County Youth Outreach (now called Smart Choices for Youth), he won a four-year chancellor’s scholarship to Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). He attended ECSU for one year as a Music Education major. After completing his freshman year, he transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 2001, graduating with a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). As he was nearing graduation, he also earned K-12 certification from the state of North Carolina in Music Education.
In January 2006, Mr. Croom began Divinity School at Shaw University. While studying as a graduate student, in the summer of 2008, he traveled the country of Ghana, in West Africa, and also visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in East Africa to experience African religion and African culture as an African American. Upon his return, he wrote an insightful paper about his experience titled Two Tales and a Story: My Encounter with Africa and African Religions. He earned his Master of Divinity from Shaw University Divinity School in 2009 with a 3.93 GPA.
Seeking to refine his giftedness in education and in leadership, and thereby become positioned to "do more for more students," Mr. Croom began his Master of School Administration at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in the fall of 2009. In May of 2011, Mr. Croom completed his Master of School Administration at NCCU, graduating with the distinction of Magna Cum Laude. He is also licensed to practice as an educational leader by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
He is proud to have been raised in the Christian tradition of the United Holy Church of America, Inc. He grew up in New First Corinthian United Holy Church, Dudley NC, where his grandmother, Reverend Katherine Wells, was his pastor, and where his mother, Minister Rosalind Croom, assisted his grandmother in the pastorate in every possible way. Having the privilege to witness such outstanding models of Christian service and Christian commitment by two single mothers is immeasurable in importance to Marcus and has made an indelible mark on his life. From 2009 to 2011, he lead the Men’s Fellowship and the Social and Political Concerns Ministry, while serving as an associate minister at Fisher Memorial United Holy Church, Durham NC, where Bishop Elroy Lewis is pastor.
As an educator, Mr. Croom teaches in various fields. But his Music Education experience ranges from being a High School Band Director, a Middle School Band Director, and an Elementary School Music Teacher. He has practiced teaching at the full range of his K-12 Music certification.
Beyond his classroom at Eno Valley Elementary School, where he taught full-time from 2006 to 2011, and the annual yearlong music performances of his Kindergarten-Fifth Grade (K-5) students, Mr. Croom completed his Principal Internship in the 2010-2011 school year at Eno Valley in Durham, NC, where he also served Durham Public Schools as a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Coach. Further, Mr. Croom was also deeply committed to nurturing the African American males of Eno Valley and did so in various ways throughout his tenure there.
In the 2010-2011 school year, with the cooperation of the administration and the faculty of Eno Valley Elementary, he created and designed a scalable intervention experience to help fourth grade, African American males called Being Black Boys. The implementation of Being Black Boys was made possible through grant funding secured by the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) from the National Education Association’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative. Implementation of Being Black Boys began in November 2010 and the qualitative and quantitative data of this original intervention experience was announced in the spring of 2011. As expected, Being Black Boys demonstrated efficacy with improving the school and family outcomes of its 19 participants. During the 2011-2012 school year, Being Black Boys will expand to serve black boys in the fourth and fifth grades at Eno Valley. When asked about what he envisioned for the future of Being Black Boys, Mr. Croom stated, “I would love to see Being Black Boys replicated across Durham Public Schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in the coming years.”
In the fall of 2011, Mr. Croom continued his graduate studies to earn his Ph.D. in the Literacy, Language & Culture program at University of Illinois at Chicago, where Dr. Alfred Tatum, renowned scholar of African American male literacy, is his advisor.
Marcus is married to Marella, his lovely wife of nearly 15 years, and they have two remarkable young children. For Marcus, his most cherished work is that of being a dad.
Marcus understands ministry as being far more than a church designation; ministry is a living practice of service.
