Marcia Reed has accomplished great things in her twelve years as Principal at the 186th Street Elementary School, where 100 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals. Through teacher collaboration and small group differentiated instruction, she has focused on closing the achievement gap for her students. She has developed an extensive intervention program to support struggling learners and a partnership with Loyola Marymount University to provide additional opportunities for students ready for greater challenges. Reed’s goal is to motivate, challenge, and engage all students to be college-prepared and career-ready. For the past year, doctors from Harbor UCLA Medical Center have taught a mini-medical magnet program including hospital visits to see medical rotations. Reed has collaborated with Toyota to bring engineers to teach students to build toy cars, while securing funding for the school’s technology lab, which won the Golden Bell Award in 2010—a first in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The 186th Street Elementary School received recognition as a Title 1 Academic Achieving School from 2008 to 2010 and 2016, a California Distinguished School in 2012, and a California Gold Ribbon Award School in 2016. Reed helped develop two books on peace and happiness with forewords written by the Dalai Lama. She holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Southern California and an Administrative Credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills.