The Centrality of Operations Leaders in Transformational Change

You can’t overlook a district’s bus drivers, nurses, custodians, accountants and others if you seek to cultivate academic excellence

There’s nothing more humbling than hearing the truth about your school system directly from the mouths of children.

Several years ago, we sat with high school students in a Midwestern city to hear about their experiences with school. We were hoping for a rigorous give and take about instruction and aspirational academic goals, but most of the kids were focused on other topics: the lack of sufficient cultural representation in lunchroom offerings, paltry diversity among administrative staff and the inadequacy of menstrual supplies in school bathrooms, to name a few.

When pressed, the students had robust opinions about teaching and learning, but those perspectives were overshadowed by seemingly mundane details that escape regular interrogation by most instructional leaders.

Administrators’ failure to address these issues is an enormous mistake.