Leading Through the Fray in Communities: A Conversation with Cami Anderson and Kaya Henderson

This fall marks the 40th Anniversary of A Nation at Risk, the watershed report that came out of the Reagan administration calling for massive changes in K-12. The Hoover Institution out of Stanford University commissioned experts to reflect on what's happened since: what reforms occurred, what we should learn from them, and where we should go from here. Cami Anderson, CEO of ThirdWay Solutions and national education leader, contributed a chapter based on lessons from her time as Superintendent of Newark Public Schools during the Booker-Christie-Zuckerberg era (2011-2015). She, in conversation with Kaya Henderson, will talk about the necessity — and perils — of pushing a bold, pro-kid, equity-focused agenda for all schools in polarized times. While noisy, that moment in Newark represented a rare example of a bi-partisan, clear game plan that put points on the board for kids in the middle of ongoing tumultuous political storms. Both Anderson and Henderson have led through the fray in large urban systems and now both coach others to realize ambitious change. Now more than ever, we need bold, feather-ruffling education leadership and unlikely coalitions to find solutions to our most intractable problems. Where are the intrapreneurs forging change in communities? This candid conversation between Anderson and Henderson will offer evocative ideas from two of K-12s most known systems-changers.