In a recent LinkedIn post, Devi Sahny shares insights from a dinner meeting with Renato Feder, the individual leading education for São Paulo, Brazil’s largest state. Sahny highlights Feder’s remarkable achievement of elevating the state’s high schools from 7th to 1st in Brazil within a four-year span, overseeing 3.5 million students and 210,000 teachers.
Sahny expresses her initial awe upon receiving a message from Feder expressing interest in her social-emotional learning solution. She describes Feder not just as an educator, but as a multifaceted reformer, an entrepreneur, economist, politician, and professor all in one. His core philosophy, as presented by Sahny, is that “education is the great connector.” However, Sahny notes her journalistic instinct to probe deeper, seeking the ‘secret’ behind achieving such significant systemic change in a compressed timeframe.
The Role of Digital Transformation and Data in Education
According to Devi Sahny, Renato Feder’s approach hinges on a forward-thinking vision for education. Feder articulates this by stating:
“The future of education is digital, with materials that engage students and support teachers with real-time data. It’s not enough to capture data, it’s to make sure the data is meaningful.”
Sahny elaborates on this point, explaining that Feder has implemented a framework where data forms the backbone of the educational system. This system captures information from every interaction, including classroom activities, school-wide performance, and individual student and teacher metrics. Sahny emphasizes the immense scale at which Feder has managed to integrate this data-driven approach.
Bridging the Public and Private Education Gap
A key takeaway from Sahny’s post is Feder’s commitment to equity in education. She observes that Feder is driven by the conviction that public school students deserve the same caliber of learning opportunities as their private school counterparts. Sahny quotes Feder’s perspective on this matter:
“Public schools can have the quality of private schools, if you coherently establish the right framework and the discipline to run it.”
This sentiment, as highlighted by Sahny, suggests that closing the quality gap is not an abstract ideal but a measurable and attainable goal. Feder’s success in São Paulo, according to Sahny’s reporting, demonstrates that with the right structure and consistent execution, public education systems can achieve high standards.
Lessons for Global Education Systems
Devi Sahny concludes her post by suggesting that other nations could learn from Feder’s model. She implies that the discipline and framework he has established are crucial elements for successful educational reform. Sahny’s reporting underscores the potential for significant positive change within public education systems when innovative leadership and data-centric strategies are employed effectively.
Sahny also prompts her audience to share examples of ambitious public education reforms they have witnessed, fostering a broader discussion on effective educational strategies worldwide.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Devi Sahny on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on May 11, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →