Michael Lin:  A Leader to Learn From

(Photo Courtesy: leader.edweek.org)
CNUSD Superintendent, Dr. Michael Lin

By Claire Lewis

Eastvale – Education Week’s annual “Leaders To Learn From” forum celebrates leadership; the type of leadership that can help positively transform lives by “seizing upon good ideas and executing them well into their school systems.”  

According to Education Week’s website, education leaders across the country are using innovative strategies to improve curriculum and instruction, address management challenges, stretch resources, engage parents and communities, utilize new technologies effectively, and create optimal learning environments that prepare all students for success beyond their K-12 years.

This seems like quite the undertaking, but by sharing challenges and successes, educators in the nation’s 14,000 districts can extract what’s working, and enrich their own districts with the benefits and best practices of that leadership.

Corona-Norco Unified School District (CNUSD) is benefiting from one such leader:  Michael H. Lin, Ed.D. Lin was one of 16 Superintendents in the country honored for their leadership and innovative contributions to education.

Lin came to CNUSD in 2008, and then became Superintendent in 2012.  He has helped to make leadership development a critical aspect of the District, enhancing its teaching force and ultimately benefiting the more than 53,000 students who attend its schools.

The 2015 Leaders To Learn From were honored at a live event, held on Mar. 18, in Washington, D.C.  Deborah S. Delisle, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, and Michael Fullan, Adviser to the Premier and Minister of Education were the Keynote speakers.  More than 150 of the most influential leaders from the U.S. Department of Education attended the event, as well.

“These leaders have found great opportunities to innovate and achieve ambitious goals, despite changing policy and budget environments and ever-increasing demands for better performance from teachers and students,” said Lesli Maxwell, Assistant Managing Editor at Education Week and the Executive Project Editor for Leaders To Learn From.  “Leaders To Learn From shines a light on these leaders who are not always recognized for the highly important work they do, and draws out key lessons that their peers in other school districts can learn from.”

In an interview with Education Week Leaders To Learn From, Lin stated, “When I leave here, I want to be sure that whatever good work has taken place is not personality-driven.  I don’t want people to say, ‘He did this and this and that.’ I want people to say that Michael and his staff have put systems in place so that the work can continue.”

To learn more about Education Week, and watch videos of the 2015 event, visit http://leaders.edweek.org.