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Andrew Drape was in the eighth grade at Aki Kurose Middle School when Mia Williams became his principal.

“Mia said this was her dream job and that she had begged the school district to send her there,” Andrew’s mother Chrissie Drape recalled. “At that moment, I said to myself, this is going to be good.”

After finishing eighth grade at Aki Kurose in Seattle’s South End, Andrew went on to Franklin High School, where he is a senior, ready to graduate. Under the leadership and stability of long-time principal Jennifer Wiley, Franklin has thrived.

Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange is the University of Washington College of Education Distinguished Graduate Awardee for 2013. The Distinguished Graduate Award was established in 1986 and is awarded annually to a College of Education graduate of marked distinction.

Lange is currently vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity at the University of Washington. She received a doctorate from the UW College of Education in educational leadership and policy studies and a master's degree in public administration.

By Meredith Honig

Published by the American Enterprise Institute

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 largely mandated that US school district central office leadership should help schools dramatically improve their performance and significantly shrink decades-old achievement gaps. However, central offices have traditionally focused on business and compliance functions rather than on supporting schools in their efforts to help all students realize ambitious learning goals.

In 2010, approximately one in five Lakeridge Elementary students was passing the state mathematics assessment test. Working with strong instructional leaders, a school improvement grant, and Lakeridge’s phenomenal teachers, Dr. Elham Kazemi’s team helped these classes see gains that are approaching or outpacing the district average on math benchmark assessments. Dr. Kazemi’s collaborative team includes Dr. Allison Hintz from UW Bothell as well as a cadre of graduate and postdoctoral students.