Champions of Change

Champions of Change: School Turnaround Leaders

On Tuesday, August 21st, the White House welcomes more than 100 state, district, and school leaders and educators from 45 states, the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Indian Education, Puerto Rico, and America Samoa, for a briefing on the transformative efforts underway in struggling schools nationwide through the federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program.

Brett Bernard received his elementary education degree from Iowa State University and received his master’s degree from the University of Kansas. Brett has been a principal in the Kansas City,...

Prior to his election as union president in 2007, Dave was a classroom teacher, staff developer, and instructional coach for 28 years in the New Haven Public School system. Most recently Dave has...

Kevin Gay moved into the role of principal of Leslie County High School (LCHS), a persistently low achieving school in Hyden, Kentucky, in the fall of 2010. Mr. Gay embraced the idea that...

Jessica Gogerty is a National Board Certified teacher, a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, and a school improvement leader now serving at Roosevelt High School in...

Dr. Tanya Green, Ed.D is the principal of Friendship Preparatory Academy at Calverton, a turnaround school within the Baltimore City Public School System. A former “at-risk” student herself, Dr....

Kristen Hayes is a professional visual artist, educator, and an alumna of Pratt Institute who has exhibited nationally and internationally over a span of more than ten years. As a native...

Carren Poff, a former Site Council chair and current English Department chair for Ontario High School, began her teaching career at Ontario High School in 2008. She has taught English, writing,...

As a mother of two, Lusia Requenes has been deeply involved in her children’s lives. Despite that involvement, she was surprised how unaware she had been that their school, Emerson Elementary, was...

David Romick is currently serving his first two-year term as the president of the Dayton Education Association, the Ohio Education Association affiliate in Dayton, Ohio. David earned his bachelor...

Linda has been an educator since graduating from the University of Maine at Farmington in 1979 with a dual degree in learning disabilities and elementary education. She has worked for Lewiston...

Wendell Waukau has been employed by the Menominee Indian School District (MISD) for the past 23 years and has served as the superintendent of schools for the past eight years. The superintendent...

Edward Wiest has been a teacher for 29 years, the past 13 of which have been on the Crow Reservation. He just celebrated his 30th anniversary with his lovely wife Nancy and is the proud father of...