Newark’s Schools Superintendent Cami Anderson has made headlines implementing programs to transform a troubled school district. Her shake-up of Newark’s public school system has earned her a place in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Anderson sat down with Managing Editor Mike Schneider to talk about the recognition and her goals for Newark’s public schools.

Anderson said that when the editor of Time called her to let her know of her inclusion on the 100 list, she was surprised but honored. She thinks it’s a positive sign when education is given such a prominent spotlight.

“I’m grateful that education and educational equity is in the news. To be honest with you, I feel that we have a lot of work to do in Newark to deliver on the promise of our kids and so I’m honored to be in such great company and I was surprised.”

But the company she keeps isn’t all positive. The list measures impact — both good and bad. It includes such individuals as Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, and other controversial figures.

Anderson is no stranger to controversy. Earlier this year, a firestorm erupted when she announced the closings of several Newark public schools. During the announcement, Anderson had to leave abruptly after a raucous group of parents and teachers caused Anderson to cut short her announcement. Anderson dismisses reports of the backlash, saying it was expected and part of a larger picture in Newark’s school reform.

“I think we made the right proposals and I think that we have the right road map and we’ve had a lot of really productive conversations. I think that people unfortunately like to report on very narrow pieces of a large conversation. Major changes — those things that achieve dramatic results that have not happened before — often come with deep dialogue and deep emotion, positive and negative.”

Since that heated meeting, Anderson says that robust conversations have been happening all over Newark with emotions ranging from jubilation and excitement to anger and fear, and everything in between.

“But I think that there’s a growing consensus that we have to do something radically different to deliver on the promise of our kids. And that meeting was one step on the journey. And I feel like that level of commitment and energy — and it manifests in positive and negative ways — is a good thing.”

Before assuming the role of Newark Schools Superintendent, Anderson made her mark with New York City’s school system. It’s a time in her career that she uses to measure future successes.

“I was part of a team of people in New York City under [Chancellor] Joel Klein’s leadership that moved the graduation rate by 10 points — that’s significant — and decreased the dropout rate by half. So not only did we graduate more kids, we retained more kids through a massive strategy that included all kinds of multiple pathways, approaches and a fierce commitment even to kids who were actually challenging authority. And that’s big”

Her current goal is to repeat that kind of success in Newark but that won’t happen overnight, she says.

“That 10-year increase and the decrease in dropout rate happened over a span of 7 years and took many partners, many community members, many activists, many leaders. And that kind of demonstrable change is both required and demanded and it also takes real time. So I feel we’re at the beginning of the journey.”

Still, Anderson says that she expects to see demonstrable change sooner rather than later.

“You have to have milestones, so we should start to see proficiency rates move immediately. But they won’t always happen at the same rate depending on the school, but we should see it move.”

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Related: Ahead of Public Address, Newark Superintendent Discusses School Closures