Giving Compass Take:

· Mike Magee at The 74 discusses the new chancellor for D.C. schools, Lewis Ferebee, and his “unwavering commitment to providing all students and families with high-quality educational opportunities.” 

· How will Lewis Ferebee go about transforming the D.C. schools?  

· Read more about better education in  D.C. schools.

In introducing Lewis Ferebee as the next chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools, Mayor Muriel Bowser rightly highlighted his “unwavering commitment to providing all students and families with high-quality educational opportunities.” That’s more than just a nice talking point.

A commitment to truly equitable educational opportunity requires demonstrable empathy, deep policy expertise, the creativity to reimagine how we serve our most vulnerable students, and the political acumen to turn that vision into action. In short, to make good on the promise of equity in education, we need bold, transformational leaders. We need leaders like Lewis Ferebee.

Those of us who know Lewis, as I do through his work with Chiefs for Change, know him as a values-driven champion for kids, one who is unafraid to fight for difficult change if it means better outcomes for students. This has been a hallmark of Lewis’s career, from his time as a school principal through his most recent role as superintendent in Indianapolis, where he built one of the most sophisticated systems of equitable school access in the nation.

As Lewis prepares to lead DCPS, it’s worth taking a look at some of his accomplishments that may provide a window into his thinking and how his leadership will benefit students in Washington, D.C.

Read the full article about the new transformational-leader of the D.C. public schools by Mike Magee at The 74.