Women’s History Month is a time of year set aside to recognize and celebrate women who have had a significant impact on the world, in our nation or within our own lives. For me, three women are top of mind this year. Though they are no longer with us, they made an indelible impact on my life. And their works and achievements will continue to impact the lives of countless others who may never know their names.
They are School Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman, who won national accolades for improving outcomes for students in the District of Columbia (DC), San Francisco, and Philadelphia; Lillian Lowery, who was regarded as a giant in the field of education and eventually became the first CEO of educational nonprofit Future Ready Columbus, Vice President for PreK-12 policy, research, and practice at The Education Trust, and served as the chief state school officer in Delaware and Maryland. And last but certainly not least, Major General Marcelite J. Harris, who had a distinguished military career of many first to include becoming the first African American female general officer in the United States Air Force.
These women were the embodiment of excellence, conviction, and purpose. Our work in education, and more specifically, our work for educational excellence and equity is built on the achievements of women like Ackerman and Lowery. While Harris dismantled barriers of a different kind; paving the way for the students we serve as public school system leaders to find high-achievement success in military careers and beyond, regardless of race or gender. Their examples in executive leadership, life’s work, and sage advice served as a guiding light for many.
I am eternally grateful to have known each of these women personally and for the privilege of calling them mentors—spending countless hours throughout the chapters of my career talking with them, learning from them, and strategizing with them to varying degrees to help navigate my professional pathway. Though they were very different, each woman was a deep thinker. A common thread to the success of all three, I believe, is that they worked tirelessly not for self-recognition, but because of their lived experiences, each felt a fierce urgency towards the need for building a more inclusive America and possessed a higher calling to serve, whether it was for the future of our children or the safety and security of our nation.
As I reflect on Women’s History Month this year, I feel invigorated by, but also indebted to the shoulders on which I stand. I find myself actively seeking ways to pay forward what was so freely given to me. This month, I urge you to replay the chapters of your career in your mind’s eye with a focus on the women who have poured into your development as a leader in education. I trust those thoughts will reignite your passion as they have for me. As I redouble my commitment to shaping an educational environment rooted in excellence and equity for all our students, I know that, in doing so, I am inspiring the next Arlene Ackerman, Lillian Lowery and Marcelite Harris.
“Leaders are called to stand in that lonely place between the no longer and the not yet and intentionally make decisions that will bind, forge, move and create history. We are not called to be popular; we are not called to be safe; we are not called to follow; we are the ones called to take risks; we are the ones called to change attitudes; to risk displeasure; we are the ones called to gamble our lives, for a better world.”—Mary Lou Anderson, Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame