Leading for Equity tells the compelling story of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools and its transformation—in less than a decade—into a system committed to breaking the links between race and class and academic achievement. In chapters organized around six core themes, the authors lay out the essential elements of MCPS’s success. They identify key lessons other districts can draw from MCPS’s experience and offer a framework for applying them. A dramatic departure from “business as usual,” MCPS has won nationwide attention as a compelling model for tackling the achievement and opportunity issues that confront our nation as a whole.
"It brings into focus the many aspects of equity and equality in one source. It makes an excellent base for some meaningful discussion of these issues by those working with aspiring educator leaders, as well as those already in the field." Deborah A. Drugan, Principal General John J. Stefanik Elementary School, Chicopee, MA When true equity prevails, all students can be successful students! Do you dream of success for every student? Do you dream of raising achievement for each and every child to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act? Historically, underserved students—children of color, children from low-income families, English language learners—all deserve to live this dream. Creating an equitable learning environment in which all students thrive is possible—with this guide you can turn dreams into reality for your school. Leadership for Equity and Excellence encourages school leaders and teachers to develop creative strategies for student advancement using tools such as accountability, equity audits, and proactive redundancy. Scheurich and Skrla demonstrate how deeply held beliefs manifest as biases, preventing educators from unlocking their students′ potential. The authors also examine the U.S. education achievement gap, and suggest several concepts for overcoming this gap, such as: Eliminating "can′t" from your vocabulary Using creativity, perseverance, and persistence Envisioning educators as civil rights workers Moving beyond harmful, but entrenched, biases Understanding the cultures and backgrounds of each student Children of color excelling in school . . . children from low-income homes thriving academically . . . classrooms, communities, and even a nation of people becoming truly equal—this is the living dream of today′s educators.
Excellence Through Equity is an inspiring look at how real-world educators are creating schools where all students are able to thrive. In these schools, educators understand that equity is not about treating all children the same. They are deeply committed to ensuring that each student receives what he or she individually needs to develop their full potential and succeed. To help educators with what can at times be a difficult and challenging journey, Blankstein and Noguera frame the book with five guiding principles of Courageous Leadership: Getting to your core Making organizational meaning Ensuring constancy and consistency of purpose Facing the facts and your fears Building sustainable relationships. They further emphasize that the practices are grounded in three important areas of research that are too often disregarded: (1) child development, (2) neuroscience, and (3) environmental influences on child development and learning. You'll hear from Carol Corbett Burris, Michael Fullan, Marcus J. Newsome, Paul Reville, Susan Szachowicz, and other bold practitioners and visionary thinkers who share compelling and actionable ideas, strategies, and experiences for closing the achievement gap in your classrooms and school. Ensuring that all students receive an education that cultivates their talents and potential is in all our common interest. As Andy Hargreaves writes in the coda: "The opportunity for all Americans is to articulate and believe in an inspiring vision of educational change that is about what the next generation of America and Americans should become, not about a target or ranking that the nation should attain." From the Foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "Letting go of a system of winners and losers in favor of what is proposed in this book is a courageous leap forward that we all must take together. Let this bold, practical book be a guide; and may you travel into this new exciting vista, in which every child can succeed."
The purpose of this empirical inquiry of state-recognized “Honor Schools of Excellence” was to explore how these schools of distinction are (or are not) promoting and supporting both academic excellence and systemic equity for all students. In Phase One, quantitative data were collected through equity audits to scan for and then document systemic patterns of equity and inequity across multiple domains of student learning and activities within 24 schools. In Phase Two, the 24 schools were ranked, based solely on minority achievement, and then separated into two types of schools, small gap (SG) schools and large gap (LG) schools. Through site visits (n=16) and the use of semi-structured interviews with principals, assistant principals, teachers, and parent leaders (n=80), qualitative data were then collected to document best practices and effective strategies that principals use to confront and change past practices anchored in open and residual racism and class discrimination. The data were analyzed through the theoretical framework of academic optimism. Three differences between the SG schools and the LG schools were found (encouraging academic achievement, offering instructional feedback, and expecting excellence). To truly honor excellence, we need to embrace equity. As such, in schools where principals support, model, and monitor a teamwork approach, a balanced approach, a strong sense of purpose, and an insistent disposition to assure that all students are served well and that all are encouraged to perform at their highest level, the outcomes of interest are better.
This timely and essential book provides a comprehensive guide for school leaders who desire to engage their school communities in transformative systemic change. Sharon I. Radd, Gretchen Givens Generett, Mark Anthony Gooden, and George Theoharis offer five practices to increase educational equity and eliminate marginalization based on race, disability, socioeconomics, language, gender and sexual identity, and religion. For each dimension of diversity, the authors provide background information for understanding the current realities in schools and beyond, and they suggest "disruptive practices" to replace the status quo in order to achieve full inclusion and educational excellence for every child. Assuming that leadership to create equity is a unique practice, the book offers * Clear explanations of foundational terms and concepts, such as equity, systemic inequity, paradigms and cognitive dissonance, and privilege; * Specific recommendations for how to build support and sustainability by engaging colleagues and other stakeholders in constructive dialogues with multiple perspectives; * Detailed descriptions of routines and roles for building effective equity-leadership teams; * Guidelines and tools for performing an equity audit, including environmental scans; * A change framework to skillfully transform your system; and * Reflection activities for self-discovery, understanding, and personal and professional growth. A call to action that is both passionate and practical, Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership is an indispensable roadmap for educators undertaking the journey toward an education system that acknowledges and advances the worth and potential of all students.
This publication identifies some of the steps policy makers can take to build school systems that are both equitable and excellent. The analysis is complemented with examples that illustrate proven or promising practices in specific countries.
Use the power of equity audits to help eliminate achievement gaps and educational bias! Grounded solidly in theory and the use of data, this resource provides practical, easy-to-implement strategies for effectively using equity audits to ensure a high-quality education for all students, regardless of socio-economic class. Readers will discover how to increase equity awareness at school and district levels and remedy inequalities in teacher quality, program design, and student achievement by using: A set of “inequity indicators” for evaluating schools, generating essential data, and identifying problem areas Nine skill sets for improved equity-oriented teaching Charts, graphs, and support materials that can be customized for specific settings
Creating Capacity for Learning and Equity in Schools provides a comprehensive guide for aspiring and practicing leaders to strengthen their capacity to create high levels of learning and equity. Chapters explore key theories and research, provide resources for developing personal and organizational leadership capacity, and guide leaders through a reflective process to help them link theory and practice. Hooper and Bernhardt’s model for excellence and equity provides a pathway for educators to create and sustain learning communities in schools. Exploring three leadership approaches—Instructional, Adaptive, and Transformational—this textbook prepares and develops leaders to engage school communities through effective instructional leadership, data-informed decision-making, and a vision for learning and equity for all. Special Features: Theory to Practice (T2P) Framework—A series of structured exercises help readers review and reflect on existing organizational practices and develop new action plans. Case Studies—Encourage individual reflection and collective discussion on key leadership scenarios. Examples in Action—Challenge readers to analyze new connections and leadership processes. A companion website—Includes additional resources and tools for instructors to facilitate activities in the classroom.
"In Achieving Equity and Excellence: Immediate Results From the Lessons of High-Poverty, High-Success Schools, author Douglas Reeves provides a methodology for change based upon identifying, recording, and replicating positive results in the readers' schools and communities. Dr. Reeves notes the need for immediate results and programs that are proven to work within readers' communities, as well as the urgent desire that educators have to create a more just and equitable system for their students. As such, this book serves as a research-backed guide for readers who wish to see their students make dramatic improvements in school in a single semester. Readers will study the mindset of high-poverty, high-success schools and the research that this mindset is founded on. Then, they will see how this mindset translates into a methodology of action for change that is based primarily in daily decisions that the readers will make for the benefit of their students. Through this book, readers will not only realize that a more equitable and just system is possible in their school, but also learn the mindset and practices necessary to make these changes a reality"--
Advance equity by learning to crack the system’s codes We must act now, using what we already know, to advance equity and raise the achievement of every student. With three decades of leading equity work across the country, George S. Perry Jr. issues a call to action for educational leaders who are willing to fight the fight for equity for all students. School and district leaders will encounter roadblocks as they enact systemic change, but Equity Warriors introduces practical, realistic, and strategic approaches for navigating those barriers. Equity Warriors equips education leaders with the moves they can make today to achieve the vision that every student becomes a high achiever by Providing real school and district examples of systemic equity efforts Demonstrating the parallel work that school and district teams must do to achieve and sustain systemic change Cracking the codes in the domains of politics, diplomacy, and warfare to achieve the equity agenda. Equity Warriors is a must read for leaders at all levels of the system who have chosen to be in this fight and are ready to do what it takes to make the system work for all students.
