Steering this ship on a course

Hi~ I'm wondering what could be the best interpretation of the part underlined?

1. Steering the ship which is already sailing on a course that embraces equity and diversity while maintaining excellence

2. Steering the ship to a new course that embraces equity and diversity while maintaining excellence

From the context, No.1 looks better to me. But I'm confused because the preposition "on" instead of "to" is used in the phrase "on a course".

What do you think? Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts~!

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Teachers in attendance lamented the fact that they had to teach students who had discipline problems and did not want to learn. (...) The sentiment was, “ . . . those kids are a distraction for the students who want to learn.” I distinctly remember one courageous first-year teacher in the room who tried to turn the conversation to teacher accountability and their responsibility for educating all children. She was met with a resounding rebuke from her more senior peers. The stark reality of this disturbing culture was like a slap in the face for me. Bill Daggett (...) has frequently stated that “culture trumps strategy.” I realized changing the culture and steering this ship on a course that embraces equity and diversity while maintaining excellence was going to agitate some already rough waters. And any public discussion about race was going to be very risky