It’s been weeks now. She’s tossing and turning trying to rest. Loni Lawson is well into her Doctor of Education course, but she’s facing a roadblock. She enrolled because of her passion for providing equal educational opportunity and serving her community, but has been facing difficulty in completing her many research assignments. Then in the corner of her eye, she saw the pictures of her grandparents and great-grandparents. They faced discrimination and never received proper education. Their portraits reminded her of why she decided to become an educator and brought back her fiery enthusiasm for providing opportunity. She laid back in bed and was able to calm down, because she knew her hard work would honor her family’s legacy.

Because she wanted to make her family proud and promote equal access to education, Dr. Lawson earned a Doctor of Education degree and continues to work as an assistant principal at MHS.

“It was only right that I honored them by earning the highest degree possible,” Dr. Lawson said. “When I got tired and felt like quitting, I looked at their pictures and kept going.”

Dr. Lawson is an advocate for the right to a proper education. As a child she always loved to learn, so having the chance to work with kids in a school setting was fitting for her.

“Education is everything,” Dr. Lawson said. “I was always the smart kid in class, who always wanted to know more and asked ‘what if’ questions. Thus it was only right to obtain a terminal degree and become an expert in something I am passionate about: Student Achievement and Title one.”

Dr. Lawson has worked closely with staff member Gabriel Baldwin, another assistant principal, to promote a time-efficient, healthy work environment.

“She has a strong ability to analyze systems and processes and create strategies to make [them] more efficient,” Mr. Baldwin said. “This helps to save our staff a lot of time and energy when completing all of the day-to-day operational things we have to get accomplished for the year.”

While working with Dr. Lawson, Mr. Baldwin has seen her work through conflicts with parents, students and staff.

“She handles disagreements with patience to understand issues from the parent’s or staff’s perspective and provides empathy when necessary,” Mr. Baldwin said. “Dr. Lawson looks for mutually beneficial solutions that support student achievement, but also holds them accountable with the assistance of staff and parent support.”

Dr. Lawson said she views conflicts and challenges with an open mind, so she can view the challenge through both sides’ perspectives. She also promotes personal and educational growth in both staff and students.

“Dr. Lawson is able to always look for the positives and opportunities for personal and professional growth through challenges and troubleshooting within the school,” Mr. Baldwin said. “She approaches each challenge with grace and open-mindedness to evaluate challenges from her perspective as well as the perspectives of her colleagues.”

Dr. Lawson said she is focused on providing teachers the support they need to continue enjoying what they love in education.

“Our plan is to continue to build a culture of excellence with strong academics through empowering environments,” Dr. Lawson said.“I plan to continue to build on the culture of excellence by empowering teachers to continue to do what they love in educating our young adults and encouraging students to set goals and never give up, no matter how tough times can get.”