Have you ever faced a challenge so large that you didn't know how to solve it?

My guest today knows that feeling quite well, and as it turns out, she found the solution

in herself.

Linda Cliot-Wayman is a force in education who's impacted the lives of thousands and

thousands of children. In fact, her former students still come up to her on the street to thank her

for what she did for them. After growing up in poverty in northern Philadelphia, Linda spent 20 years

teaching special education, then became a principal, eventually overseeing all

high schools in the school district of Philadelphia. When she struggled to find a principal for the

most challenged school in the district, Linda realized that she was actually the right person for the

job, starting one of the greatest chapters of her life. In our conversation, Linda opens up about how she turned challenges into change at Strawberry Mansion High School

and the difference she saw in her students after showing how much she loved them.

Plus, Linda shares her takeaways from visiting schools across the country and how we can

all offer kids hope.

She is amazing. As the school year begins, our conversation is a beautiful reminder of the

impact educators have on children and how childhood experiences can guide the rest of our lives.

I'm Hoda Kotby. Welcome to my podcast, Making Space.

One of the things that lift me up whenever I'm in a funk is either a commencement address or a TED talk.

I literally go, I feel crummy, let's go. What's the best somebody has to offer?

I ran into a TED talk by a woman named Principal Weyman. And I was like, who is this woman?

And she did something incredible.

She took a school that was very low performing and what she describes as persistently dangerous,

a school that everyone had given up on, students who everyone had given up on. And she decided,

...