It takes a good deal of courage to take on the entrenched forces in K-12 education that stymie progress, especially when it comes to advancing the cause of equity among students. That is one reason why we found considerable appeal in carrying the article by Roberto Padilla in this issue.

Padilla is a product of the Newburgh, N.Y., Enlarged City School District that he now leads as superintendent. His account shares the campaign he is waging to overhaul practices persisting for years that limited student learning opportunities and to remedy conditions that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline. (Education Week documented his work earlier this year when honoring him as a Leader to Learn From.)

In his magazine piece, Padilla lays out, succinctly, a few of the intentional steps he has tried to take as leader of the 12,000-student district. The underlying message he conveys is this: Engaging fellow educators in these hard conversations is only the first step. Progressive actions must follow.