Education Revolution: James Lane Of PDK International and Educators Rising On Innovative Approaches That Are Transforming Education
Developing a team culture with shared vision and passion for the work is more important than any one strategy. Great strategies come together because of great teams first.
The landscape of education is undergoing a profound transformation, propelled by technological advancements, pedagogical innovations, and a deepened understanding of learning styles. Traditional classrooms are evolving, and new modes of teaching and learning are emerging to better prepare students for the complexities of the modern world. This series will take a look at the groundbreaking work being done across the globe to redefine education. As a part of this interview series, we had the pleasure to interview James Lane.
Dr. James Lane is the chief executive officer of PDK International and Educators Rising. He most recently served as Acting Assistant Secretary and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education after serving as Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona. Before his time in federal service, he served as Virginia’s 25th Superintendent of Public Instruction, a position appointed by the Governor of Virginia.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?
Of course, and thank you for the opportunity! I grew up in Appalachia — born in Kentucky, attended school in eastern Tennessee, eventually moved to Raleigh by the time I was in high school, and now live in Virginia. We were a family who couldn’t afford much growing up, but my parents always strived to make sure we had what we needed to be successful in school. I can remember when I was doing homework (way before the internet) and was jealous that the other kids in school had World Book encyclopedias to help them with their work. Even though salespeople would come to our door every year trying to sell them, we didn’t have the means to purchase them. It sounds almost surreal now, but back then, it was common to have these types of items sold door to door. Each time a salesperson visited, they would leave a sample — maybe a single letter or a few excerpts.
I vividly remember how valuable those samples were to me and my quest for knowledge. My friends and I would gather around that single book — whether it was “A” or “B” — and pour over it, trying to absorb everything we could. We even had little “science clubs” where we dreamed about becoming future scientists based on what we could read and learn when we got a new letter of the alphabet.
Later, my granny in Kentucky was able to gather together a full set of the World Book at her house, and it became a treasure trove for me and other kids in our family and friends’ community. Encyclopedias weren’t something you could easily check out from the library; you had to read them on-site, so having that access changed my world when we could visit my grandmother.
Looking back, I realize how much early access to trusted, factual information shaped my education journey. It’s a big reason why, as an educator, I became so passionate about ensuring that every student had access to devices and digital learning tools for anywhere, anytime learning. I never wanted another child to feel limited in their education simply because they didn’t have the right resources at home.
World Book sparked my curiosity as a kid. So, as a state, district, federal, and now national association leader, I’m proud to continue the mission of giving every student ubiquitous, trustworthy access to information that fuels their love of learning on their academic journey.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What lesson did you learn from it?
One story I’ll never forget is when I first became a principal at a small school in Middlesex, Virginia. The school had a tough year a couple of years before I got there, and either missed accreditation or at least nearly missed that benchmark. I was told when I was hired that it was a place that needed real change. When I got in there, though, I learned quickly that we had an amazing staff ready to make a difference but needed better systems to support students who were struggling.
I developed and implemented what I would later refer to in my career as the “seven steps to school improvement” — a model I’m now writing a book about. In just one year, we saw dramatic gains: sixth-grade math pass rates increased by double digits, and social studies scores also skyrocketed.
But the story that sticks with me most isn’t about the numbers. It’s about a single student who had never passed a state assessment in Virginia — not in third, fourth, fifth, or sixth grade. In seventh grade, when it came time for testing, he stayed in that room working on his exam for four hours, long after most of his classmates had finished.
When I saw him afterward, he told me, through tears, “Dr. Lane, I wasn’t going to give up on myself. I checked every answer again and again.”
We pulled his score right there in my office. He had passed — for the first time in his life. The pride and belief in his eyes at that moment are something I’ll never forget.
That experience reinforced two critical lessons:
- Every student needs systems of support ready to catch them the moment they struggle.
- Self-Efficacy — belief in oneself and a community that fosters it — is just as important as academic strategies.
Every time I take on a new leadership challenge, I think about that student. His resilience inspires me daily.
Why are you considered an authority in the education field?
I started my career as a music major — a trumpet player- before pivoting into education when I realized that playing music professionally wasn’t the most practical path for raising a family.
I began as a band director in Durham, North Carolina, at a newly reopened magnet school. Fun fact: At the end of my interview, the assistant principal chased me to my car because I was the only applicant! I agreed to take the job as long as I could still play music on weekends.
Starting with 25 students, I grew that band program to involve over half the school and consistently earned “superior” ratings — the highest in school music competitions.
From there, my principal encouraged me to move into administration. I served as a principal, then became a superintendent in multiple districts, including Middlesex, Goochland, and Chesterfield County, one of the nation’s larger districts. In 2017, I was named Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year.
Later, the Governor of Virginia asked me to serve as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a role I held from 2018 to 2022. After that, I joined the U.S. Department of Education, leading national K–12 initiatives, including significant work around the American Rescue Plan.
Today, I’m the CEO of PDK International, where I’m focused on tackling two of the biggest challenges facing education: the teacher shortage and teacher quality. Our flagship program, Educators Rising, inspires and prepares the next generation of teachers, starting in high school classrooms across the country.
In each of these roles, I’ve been focused on what we can do to engage students with their learning, to encourage the adults working with students to be engaged in strong pedagogy, and to always be focused on what we can do to ensure we’re focused on doing what’s best for students. I’m thankful for the opportunity I had in that first job as a band director — learning later from the assistant principal that I’d been the only applicant.
What areas of the U.S. education system are going really well?
There’s a lot to be excited about during this rapid digital transformation, as we strive to serve our teachers, students, and communities effectively, efficiently, and responsibly with impactful learning experiences that create opportunities for all.
For example, the legacy, time-tested brand World Book is launching ClassMate, an AI-powered literacy tool that supports teachers to effectively meet all students where they are, in a way that sparks curiosity and boosts reading.
What’s unique about ClassMate is that it’s built on a small Language Learning Model (LLM) from its catalogue of trusted content, offering students support as they expand their knowledge, explore new ideas, and improve literacy skills. I believe AI, when implemented thoughtfully, can be a powerful tool to help teachers work more efficiently and create personalized learning experiences.
The future is about combining trusted sources with emerging technology to make learning both accurate and inspiring.
What areas of the U.S. education system should be prioritized for improvement?
The pandemic highlighted and deepened many existing challenges in education. As State Superintendent during COVID, I saw firsthand how schools had to pivot overnight — from grand plans to simply trying to reopen safely.
I was proud to help lead the education side of the American Rescue Plan (ARP). When I joined the U.S. Department of Education, only about 4% of the ARP funds had been spent. We rolled up our sleeves, provided guidance, and ultimately saw districts spend nearly all the funds, with many focusing directly on supporting student learning recovery.
But challenges remain. National assessment results (NAEP) show significant declines in reading and math. Many schools still lack both resources and the strong systems needed to provide academic support at the magnitude necessary to support struggling students. Most schools have some tactics in place to address students’ needs, but what we have seen is that it isn’t happening on the magnitude to speed the transition from learning recovery to thriving students in order to turn scores around more quickly. It will be important to keep expectations and accountability systems high to ensure we are maximizing the opportunity we have to help our students.
Research shows that to truly help students recover, interventions need to be intensive, such as 100 hours or more of tutoring a year. Yet, most schools were providing only a fraction of that.
Moving forward, we need generational investments in evidence-based strategies: high-dosage tutoring, science of reading, and math instruction grounded in research. And perhaps most critically, we need every adult in a school community to understand what to do the moment a student starts to struggle.
What innovative educational approaches are you using? What problem are you solving, and how?
At PDK International, we are tackling the teacher shortage head-on through our Educators Rising initiative.
Through a new project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, we’re building workforce development and training programs for young adults in Maryland and South Dakota. We’re creating clear career pathways for high school students to explore teaching, complete internships, earn paraprofessional licenses, and ultimately move into full teaching roles.
As part of the project, we’re launching new CTE programs and Educators Rising chapters and offering hands-on career exploration, work-based learning, and real-world teaching experiences.
By partnering with national education organizations, local school districts, states, universities, and workforce agencies, we are creating sustainable pipelines of future educators from the high school ranks, focusing on encouraging them to come back and teach in their home community.
It’s an approach grounded in the belief that students who experience the joy and impact of teaching early on will be more likely to commit to the profession long-term.
How do you believe your approach might shape the future of education?
Our approach is grounded in the Educators Rising Standards, developed in collaboration with several national organizations built through the same professional consensus model as the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
We’re not just exposing students to the idea of teaching; we’re equipping them with real skills, a deep understanding of pedagogy, and a sense of purpose.
We also invest in scholarships and honor societies, such as the Educators Rising National Honor Society and Pi Lambda Theta, to recognize excellence among aspiring educators.
By creating opportunities for young people to see teaching as a viable, respected, and fulfilling career — and giving them the training to succeed — we are addressing the teacher shortage at its root and building a stronger future for education nationwide.
How do you measure the impact of your innovative educational practices on students’ learning and well-being?
Our work will not be complete until we have a highly effective and engaging teacher in every classroom in America. That said, we look at several metrics to ensure our program is successful. First, we want to ensure we are growing our impact by bringing education pathways and CTE programs to every interested community, so we are focused on expanding to new locations. Second, we want to know that our students are prepared for the next step in their career, so we survey our participants and their teachers/supervisors frequently, and are pleased to know that our partners report that our candidates are amongst the best that apply for any opportunity. Finally, as part of our CTE program, we offer assessments provided by the Praxis team at ETS. I believe we should be giving these tests closer to high school when students consecutively have had four years of math and four years of English, versus at the end of college, where students haven’t seen this material for a few semesters. In our first pilot test, whether the Parapro exam or the Praxis Core, our students scored more than 10 points higher than the national average on these certification exams.
What challenges have you faced in implementing your educational innovations, and how have you overcome them?
The most common problem facing educational non-profits is access to the resources necessary to scale the program. Funders will support “pathways” work but often focus on tech and STEM pathways with their support and will ignore the path that leads to all other pathways — TEACHING. We have overcome this issue by finding new and creative ways to grow our impact to help with the teacher shortage. We now have federal and state grants, partner directly with districts, and work with other major education associations to make a difference in the communities we serve. We are lucky to now be in all 50 states and are approaching nearly 25,000 students per year showing interest in the education profession while in high school.
Keeping in mind the “Law of Unintended Consequences” can you see any potential drawbacks of this innovation that people should think more deeply about?
Not really. I think it is really important for high school students to be able to explore multiple careers and believe every major CTE career cluster should be offered in every high school in America. We are seeing a major shift over the last decade to transforming high school, focusing on careers (those that require college and those that do not). That said, the most important thing is to understand that these are still exploratory phases for adolescents in middle and high school. It’s ok if a student takes a carpentry course and decides they don’t like it. That doesn’t mean the program is a failure; rather, it is another data point the student can use when developing their career plan. So, don’t get stuck on how many high school students matriculate perfectly from each program, but rather focus on giving students experiences that will inform their journey and hopefully help them make decisions about their future sooner.
What are your “5 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started”?
- Developing a team culture with shared vision and passion for the work is more important than any one strategy. Great strategies come together because of great teams first.
- Be “maniacal” about who you hire. In education, surrounding yourself with highly effective people who complement your strengths and those with skills in areas you don’t have are essential to building a great team.
- Details matter. Often, the leaders I’ve seen struggle don’t care for detail orientation. Now I’m not saying you need to be in the weeds but at least walk up to the underbrush and look around the forest.
- Efficacy matters. The schools I’ve seen struggle the most are those that don’t believe they can be better. Leadership sets the tone, but I’ve yet to find a school that couldn’t be transformed to be a successful place for students as long as everyone believes they can make a difference.
- Listen to the kids and their parents. When I’m looking for a solution to a difficult problem, I offer space for students and parents to help with the decisions. When we align with our community’s values, it helps the complex look more self-apparent.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Opportunity comes at the intersection of luck and skill. You have to be prepared for the moment that your big break comes. I had amazing experiences much earlier in my career than expected, but I was ready and prepared just in case the opportunity ever came. However, we can take luck out of the equation if we create systems to support every student at the moment they show failure or have a specific need.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Do I have to pick just one? I’m crazy about basketball, and I know this person is no longer with us, but I would have loved to have this experience with Dean Smith or John Wooden. Having worked in the federal government, I’ve met some amazing government and political leaders and am thankful for that. I would certainly love to meet any leader I’ve heard about on the Acquired podcast, as the stories of how Microsoft, Meta, Starbucks, Mars, Ikea, Nvidia, etc. have fascinated me. But if I had to pick just one, I think it would be Matthew McConaughey. I enjoyed his Greenlights audiobook and would love to hear more of those stories and learn where he goes next. I also love how he has reinvented himself a few times, and similarly, I’ve made different transitions in my career. But on the education side, the work he’s done with his foundation to give more districts access to federal grants, I just think there could be synergy. Alright, alright, alright?
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I’m not as active on the social channels as I used to be when I was younger, but it seems like LinkedIn is the best place to keep up to date: www.linkedin.com/in/jamesflane
But you can find me on all the major channels, but seriously, just email me and let’s connect!
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
Education Revolution: James Lane Of PDK International and Educators Rising On Innovative Approaches… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.