What is the Melrose Center at Breck?
The Melrose Family Center for Leadership and Equity is a cross-divisional, brave space where students and faculty can explore crucial issues of equity, leadership, joy, and restoration that shape the daily health of our school community.
Dr. Chéleah Googe, Ph.D., serves as Director of Leadership and Equity at the Melrose Center at Breck. She is a Black Feminist educator, facilitator, and equity advocate.
Dr. Googe earned a B.S. in Education Policy from the University of Richmond, a M.S. in Counselor Education from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Old Dominion University.
Programs and Features of the Melrose Center
The Melrose Center is where community happens.
It's a place where we're intentional about how people feel when they enter and when they leave. It's a place where hard conversations and joyful ones coexists, where you can find both respite and challenge, and where emerging leaders develop the skills, courage, and self-awareness to grow.
Dr. Chéleah Googe
Partners and Opportunities to Connect
The Breck Institute*
on Instructional Leadership
Our signature learning event for instructional leaders.
Join us for the inaugural Breck Institute on Instructional Leadership for Social and Academic Belonging on April 12-14, 2026 at Breck. Hosted by the Melrose Center and the Peter Clark Center, this event is focused on designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment that systematically serve all students. Participants will learn about our research-informed instructional framework, visit classrooms to see it in action, and engage in facilitated team discussions to build capacity and be instructional leaders at your schools.
The Peter Clark Center
for Mind, Brain, and Education
Bridging the gap between research and practice.
We work with every teacher to support the growth, learning, and development of each student. Operating at the nexus of psychology, cognitive science, and education, we bridge the gap between research and practice for faculty, students, and parents in a variety of educational contexts around the world. The goal? For students to thrive in the classroom and beyond. The Peter Clark Center and the Melrose Center partner closely to drive teaching and learning excellence and innovation at Breck and beyond.
Leadership and Equity at Breck
Leadership and Equity are fundamental to every aspect of school life and essential for developing a truly thriving community. At Breck, we believe that every student can grow their leadership practice annually through intentional instruction, experience, and reflection. Our work empowers all graduates to live into Breck's mission and lead lives characterized by intellectual curiosity, self-knowledge, and social responsibility.
Guiding Documents
Following a year-long discovery process with equity partner Design Impact, Breck has developed our Community Commitments. These are specific action steps that were developed by community members, for community members and articulate our dream for our school culture and practice of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work. For a quick summary, check out this document.
We know as an educational institution that the practice of healthy discourse is essential to the learning environment. Over a two-year period, we spoke with students, teachers, and parents about what discourse should look and feel like. Our Discourse with Dignity document outlines our commitment to honor the dignity of one another as a part of our culture of discourse.