This conversation with Dr. Leticia Hernandez hits every nerve of what real, human-centered leadership in education looks like: courage, systems thinking, vulnerability, and a fierce “not on my watch” commitment to kids.

Her journey—from arriving in the U.S. without English to leading the school district that once taught her—is a case study in what’s possible when educators refuse to let circumstances define a student's future.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS

• 02:17 – Leticia’s childhood, uprooting to the U.S., and the first spark of possibility
• 05:32 – The one teacher who changed her entire trajectory
• 08:21 – Returning to teach in her own childhood classroom
• 10:40 – “Not on my watch”: the moment that shaped her leadership
• 14:48 – The danger of limiting beliefs about kids
• 16:50 – Systems thinking vs. one-off professional development
• 19:02 – Data that becomes personal — and why that’s the unlock
• 23:15 – Building a districtwide culture of shared responsibility
• 26:44 – Creating teacher leadership without the top-down trap
• 29:12 – The principal as a true instructional leader
• 33:05 – Why many districts don’t do the things we know work
• 35:47 – Removing ego: the hardest leadership skill
• 39:00 – Building a tight leadership column
• 42:21 – The power of relationships in sustaining change
• 44:20 – Why vulnerability is an underused leadership tool
• 48:03 – Celebrating small wins and proof of early trajectory shifts
• 51:10 – The hope, responsibility, and reality of leading for all kids
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