Oklahoma's educational landscape is set for a directional shift as Lindel Fields steps in as the new State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Governor Kevin Stitt made his selection known as he appointed Fields, the former CareerTech administrator and Tulsa-based executive leadership consultant, to complete Ryan Walters' unfinished term. Fields is no stranger to the academy; his 30 years in the field, highlighted by a noted stint as superintendent and CEO of Tri County Tech in Bartlesville, earned the institution the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award—an accolade that signals organizational performance excellence.
Amid the announcement, Rep. Chris Banning, R-Bixby, didn't hold back his praise for Fields. “Lindel Fields is the kind of leader Oklahoma students, parents and teachers need right now,” Banning expressed. His interaction with Fields seems deeply personal, as he has worked alongside the new superintendent through leadership training seminars, witnessing - first hand - his purported integrity and insight. “I’ve had the privilege of working with him through leadership training seminars for my own executives, and I’ve seen firsthand the integrity and wisdom he brings to every room,” Banning told Oklahoma House of Representatives. Fields' demeanor is apparently a stabilizing force, described as being "calm under pressure, clear in his vision and committed to bringing out the best in others."
The change in guard bucks the trend of tumult that has occasionally peppered Oklahoma's public education system. Fields' post-Tri County Tech years saw him at the helm of Your Culture Coach, his firm that has been operational in bolstering the performance across schools, businesses, and local governments throughout Oklahoma. This track record of success, of strategically advising and molding organizations to better serve their constituencies, is seen as a precursor to what he might achieve on the larger canvas of state education policy.
With such critical acclaim to his name and a career's worth of experience in hand, the expectations riding on Fields are peak high. His mission now transcends the individual corridors of CareerTech—it's the broader spectrum of Oklahoma's educational framework that calls for his guiding hand.
