Instead of 614 Ohio school districts to worry about, Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Deb Delisle now has over 95,000, and she plans to help these districts strategically and creatively transform school culture at the national level.

Delisle joined the Department of Education last April after being nominated by President Obama and confrimed by the U.S. Senate. A

n education veteran with over 37 years in U.S. public schools, Delisle  advocates for education reform grounded in new technology, closing the opportunity gap for students in the nation's lowest-performing schools, and transforming schools to compete in the 21st-century global economy. 

The former Ohio Schools Chief stressed the importance of school climate and culture for today’s student Friday morning at the National Conference of Education in Los Angeles.

About 1,500 national school leaders are attending the three-day conference, which will focus primarily on the new common core standards, teacher and principal evaluations and new technology and social media in schools. 

One of the most important issues, Delisle said, is innovating the public school system on a grand scale, and transforming school culture is a high of a priority at the federal level as it is the state level.

But what exactly defines school culture? It is as physical as it is emotional: What does a school look like? What is its energy level? What does it feel like? Does the environment enable students to work collaboratively? 

Delisle cited these questions to describe a successful, high-performing American public school. The space and energy of a school is just as important as its curriculum.

These suggestions, along with ways to introduce new technology, inquiry based learning, collaboration, and a high level of engagement are the defining factors of a successful, forward thinking public school system. 

Unfortunately, many superintendents and school leaders are trapped in a “rote and predictable behavioral pattern” that ultimately prevents students from a higher quality education. 

The Department of Education wants to prepare students for the 21st-century global economy, and that starts with shaking off many aspects of a status quo education system and transitioning to a blended learning environment that strategically engages every student, no matter their learning level or socio-economic status. 

“All of this is really, really hard to do,” said Delisle.   

She asked the packed room of school leaders, “What’s your plan to transform your schools?”

But with a flailing economy, many schools can barely meet the basic needs of their students, let alone invest in new technology or new programs. 

However, some transformations do not cost a lot of money. In fact, she said, it can be something as simple as changing how school staff members greet students on a daily basis. 

“When you walk into a school, ask yourself, ‘Would I want my child to go here?’” Said Delisle. “If the answer is no, why is it ok for someone else’s child?”

                            ALSO: College Cal Grants More Accessible To Los Angeles Students

Schools should also be responsible for engaging parents, families and the community. And engagement does not mean sending a newsletter home, she said. American education needs to be more personalized, and that starts on a fundamental, social and emotional level.

"One of our primary objectives is to ensure students are well prepared going into school and that means a variety of things," said the Assistant Secretary in an interview after the conference. "It's not just about content but also their social and emotional development."

Elaborating on the President's initiative to revamp early childhood education for all four year olds mentioned in his State of the Union Address, Delisle said while the new plan does not have all its details "ironed out," it will have an integral role in innovating the American k-12 public school system. 

"There will be high quality programs and access to those programs for all four year olds across the United States," she said. "Then the slots that are currently for Head Start for four year olds will move down to zero-three space and increase space for those children."

It is a new, comprehensive and "very robust" approach to changing the education system for the country's earliest learners, said Delisle. And in a country where many states make pre-K or kindergarten optional, making early childhood education a priority can really change the opportunity gap facing many students from low and moderate-income families, and for students learning english as a second language.

Engaging children at an early level can dramatically affect a student's success once they enter first grade.  

Delisle drew from her experience as an elementary school teacher, former school and state superintendent and school chief to describe what works for students from rural and urban communities. No matter the student or location, students generally connect to a more personalized, active education program. 

For the most part, the U.S. public school system is living too far in the past, and that is why students are checking out, “not getting it,” or dropping out. During the 2009-10 academic year, a total of 514,238 public school students dropped out of grades 9-12 across the United States, about 3.5 percent. That number has risen slightly, according to data from the National Center for Education Studies.

Although the number is the lowest it has been in decades, Delisle says schools can no longer blame students for not connecting with curriculum when many schools still rely primarily on antiquated materials. 

“We’ve created false proxies for learning,” said Delisle. “Finishing a semester or a textbook does not mean a student mastered a unit. Some classrooms set textbook aside and are making creative, strategic decisions with other resources they already have.”

And it’s working in some school systems. Delisle mentioned a school in Northern California that paired a math and drama teacher together to work with an eighth grade classroom on how climate change in their area could change the economy. 

This example highlights the Department of Education’s goal to create highly rigorous, creative and engaging learning environments that make students think differently, not just regurgitate facts from a textbook. 

“Some kids just become professional page-turners,” she said. “We need to engage in blended learning because when kids go out into the real world, get a job, or go to college, their life is blended. They are not sitting in a room reading from a book.”

Blended and inquiry based learning are some of the new terminology being infused into public school discourse 

Delisle shared the Department’s International Strategy Framework, a plan to increase the global competency of American students while strengthing U.S. education. It’s hard to visualize how this could take place in a public school classroom with aging materials and an already stretched budget. But that’s why schools need to get creative. 

“One school tested the quality of their local river water at the same time as a school in South Africa,” Delisle explained. “They were able to see how one thing affected two communities worlds away.”

Schools need to try to build projects that cross cultures and time zones to teach students 21st-century skills, which many current jobs require. This will be difficult for some school districts to accomplish, said Delisle, but that’s why school leaders need to take risks. 

Additionally, every school district, no matter the location, should have solid leadership, stressed the Assistant Secretary. A teacher or principal cannot engage students if they do not know what is going on in their own classrooms, or see how student’s respond to teachers.

                              ALSO: L.A. Mayoral Candidates' Education Proposals Explained

Leadership needs to be revamped, and there is no silver bullet to do that.  School leaders need to know what battles to fight and when to toe the line for their students. 

Although the Department of Education has a broad idea of an innovative and forward thinking public school system at a federal level, that does not mean every school will do it the same way. 

“Every state is so different, so our kids are so different,” said Delisle. “But we all have commonalities."

Success ultimately comes from understanding a school district’s intricacies, its problems, its student body and working from there. U.S. public schools have to change the conversation on how to close an opportunity gap that continues to widen for many of the nation’s students. 

“The difference between an excellent school and a mediocre, non-effective school is everything,” said Delisle. “It comes down to the culture of that school. You can feel the difference.”