BTB: What inspired you to develop the Seven Essential Elements for School Transformation for Lawrence Public Schools?

WL: My work on the Seven Essential Elements for School Transformation has been a reflective, thought-provoking journey for me. I spent a great deal of time pondering key questions: How do I frame the work I've done? What do I think are the critical components to positively affect change? How do I approach organizational structure and culture reform?

We talk a lot about school reform in this country; I think it's about transformational leadership. Transformation has a lot to do with motivation and inspiration. I am fortunate to understand one thing: I am not the smartest person in the district. There are smarter people in their subjects of expertise. How could I observe a physics class and make a judgment about content? But I do know what good lessons look and sound like. I know the necessary components for effective lesson delivery to boost student engagement and comprehension. My task is to lead our bright teachers, inspire them, and motivate them to deliver for our students every day.

I have done a lot of reading, had a lot of conversations, made many observations, and implemented numerous changes over the years. Through reflection, I have identified seven principles that I think apply to school districts that are trying to build a framework for change. Too often system leaders don't take time to adequately reflect and assess before overhauling a district. You have to investigate best practices, and get your arms around what's working and what's not, to be a transformational leader.

BTB: From your vantage point, what are the Seven Essentials Elements for School Transformation?

WL: The Seven Essential Elements for School Transformation highlight the areas that school and district leadership must address to initiate and sustain improved student achievement efforts. Each of the essential elements has unique components that represent or define the element more thoroughly, and provide expectations within each element. The Seven Essential Elements for School Transformation and their critical components are:

1) Leadership and School Culture

• A shared belief system and values
• Strategic and systematic leadership
• A professional learning community
• Operational management

2) Coherent Curriculum

• Clearly defined
• Equitable opportunities for every student
• Rigorous and cognitively engaging
• Data collection and analysis

3) Instructional Practice

• Research-, data-, and standards-based
• Differentiated for every student
• Student-centered and teacher-facilitated
• Procedures and routines for a positive classroom culture

4) Assessment and Accountability

• Informative and comprehensive
• Data analysis
• Data management
• Reporting and monitoring system

5) Professional Learning

• Strength-based
• Differentiated and responsive
• Aligned with district and school goals

6) Student Support Services

• Comprehensive prevention and intervention programs
• Continuum of services
• Systematic data management

7) Family and Community Engagement

• Purposeful and responsive
• Family-friendly schools
• Full-service community school

BTB: How has the development and adoption of the Seven Essentials Elements for School Transformation changed Lawrence Public Schools?

WL: Combined, the Seven Essential Elements for School Transformation drive our district's comprehensive educational plan and its measurable outcomes. We use data to assess whether our targets have been met, and connect back to the seven essentials as a guide.

Decision-making based on data has become the norm, and we expect everyone to know how to do it. Analyzing data is not something reserved for the superintendent and a few chosen administrators. Principals and teachers have learned how to access, analyze, and use student assessment data to set and execute improvement goals. In addition to assessment data, we examine staff and student attendance, new teacher retention rates, and discipline referrals, among many other things. Good data tells a story and allows for retrospection, reflection, and proper planning for school system transformation.

We have also worked to create a culture where teamwork is fundamental. Our professional learning environment provides ample opportunities for teachers to get together in a collegial manner to examine and construct new knowledge. It is expected that school teams engage in daily collaborative planning.

It is my role to continuously communicate and reinforce our school system's vision of transformation. I develop principal leadership and help principals expand teacher leadership. With hard work, we have built the leadership capacity throughout our schools to ensure that our transformation is successful and sustained.

BTB: You were elected president of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) in 2005. Please describe the organization and its goals.

WL: ALAS is not just an acronym for the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents—it was intentionally selected because it means wings in the Spanish language. It is our hope that the ALAS will generate wings to success for Latino educators.

ALAS is focused on identifying, training, and supporting Latino administrators and superintendents. By the year 2025, Latino children will comprise 25 percent of the nation’s school-age population. In many states, Latinos have already reached that level, yet less than 1 percent of the nation’s educational leaders are Latino.

We invite every system leader that serves the Latino school population, regardless of ethnicity, to join ALAS. There are currently about 2,500 Hispanic Serving School Districts (HSSDs), and we welcome them all. The truth of the matter is system leaders who have the largest population of Latino students under their care are not Latinos. ALAS is committed to framing our work to include all of those who serve our community, and to galvanizing all people to support public education for all children.

Public education is the bedrock of American democracy. One of our forefathers, Horace Mann, who steadfastly believed that all children had the right to a public education, wrote the charter for public schools in the city of Lawrence. I am grateful to him, the father of public education, and I proudly stand on his shoulders. I carry his vision forward through my work with ALAS and Lawrence Public Schools.