Schlechty Center

Ron Wright Senior Associate

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As a public school principal, I often found myself searching for a way to explain the foundations of good teaching and successful schools so my students, parents, and teachers could understand the potential they could unlock. With the Working on the Work framework, I found the words to frame what I so fundamentally believed. I was very fortunate to have a superintendent who supported my efforts to learn more, and over the next four years I immersed myself in learning, sharing, and successfully implementing the framework. Working for the Schlechty Center and advancing our work across the country is simply a dream come true for me.

I care passionately about public education and its role in preserving our great democracy. I am convinced that redefining school systems as learning organizations in which engagement is the core business is our best hope for the future success of our children and society. The opportunities I have had to facilitate and talk about engagement with clients inspire me. The work on engagement never fails to generate a level of enthusiasm from our clients that assures me there is great hope to be found in the work we are doing.

RON WRIGHT was a military dependent, attending 13 different schools in England, America, and the Philippines before completing a bachelor’s degree and joining the Clover School District in Clover, South Carolina. He has served public education for 35 years as a teacher, assistant principal, middle school principal, high school principal, assistant superintendent, and now as a senior associate with the Schlechty Center. As principal at Clover High School, Ron used the Working on the Work framework to change the culture of the school to one in which the core business was engagement. Standards and achievement levels rose over a four-year period and the school received excellent ratings for achievement and improvement in 2008. During his public school career, Ron was twice selected as Teacher of the Year, was named Administrator of the Year by four different state organizations, and was selected as the 2008 Citizen of the Year by his hometown. Ron is also a musician and writer and loves the creativity of the design process.