Taking it Up! Leading for Educational Equity   

At BayCES, equity is at the center of creating or restructuring our schools. We need leaders with the integrity and the courage to transform them into places that fully support the academic achievement and emotional well being of every child, especially those who are traditionally underserved.

But any meaningful equity strategy requires us to try new or different things. For most of us this is too scary, messy and challenging.

Leadership means taking responsibility for what matters to you. This simple definition is different from the authoritarian model of the boss or supervisor and one many prefer not to identify with.

Ask yourself what really matters. Then, take it up.

Often, educators can name a critical moment when they realized leadership is nothing more than deciding what matters to them and then deciding to act accordingly.

This kind of leadership takes courage and forces us to redefine what is possible, to see a new equitable world and to be willing to undertake, step-by-step what is necessary - in concrete terms - to achieve that vision. It also requires us to leave the comfort of what we have and move forward without succumbing to fear.

We need lots of people to take leadership for educational equity. So I invite you to take it up. If you choose to accept this challenge, here are some key points to remember.

The Not so Easy Step-by-Step

No one can do it alone. To address equity well you need to include participants - even those you are not comfortable with - who bring their diverse experiences and perspectives.

Not compromising on equity is challenging. Be willing to encounter resistance and deal with it positively and proactively. This requires identifying and incorporating equity-focused activities for teachers, administrators and parents into the school's existing professional development. To achieve equitable student outcomes, these activities are necessary in the design phase for a new school, or in the reflective work of a new or existing school community.

Equal status must be given to diverse perspectives. It is important that different viewpoints be considered if we are to develop leadership among people who reflect the diversity of the community's racial and cultural heritage. This is more than simply inviting people of diverse backgrounds to participate, but making sure that all voices are heard. Attention must be paid to discarding the ingrained differentials found in society frequently manifest in interactions between people from oppressed groups and those from the dominant culture.

Recognize that a long history of institutionalized oppression can critically affect leadership characteristics, such as confidence. Systemic oppression leaves a notable imprint upon one's self-perceptions as a leader. On the other hand, the support from colleagues, parents, administrators and other significant people counters this inequity and contributes to their leadership success.

There is no "package" that can enable you to do equity work. The process is rather one of increasing knowledge, developing alliances and empowering oneself. This means the willingness to:

• Identify and eliminate any practice/policies necessary to overcome the negative effects of generations of racial and class discrimination and other forms of bias experienced by colleagues and many of their students and their families.
• Promote alliances among educators, parents and students, across and within different racial, ethnic, cultural, economic and linguistic groups. Support them to work within a common vision for student achievement and equity. 
• Provide emotional support and healing to colleagues while helping them rethink some of their assumptions about schools, learning and equity.

Do not underestimate the power of alliances. Alliances help us become clearer about our goals and better able to communicate confidence, as well as deal with stress and negativism that are often a part of working for change. Alliances are built in environments in which people share authentically about the obstacles that limit their leadership and their vision for students, families and communities. They help us to do our own thinking and resist the pull to simply play it safe.

Send out ripples of hope. Finally, if our goal is to change the outcomes for our students of color and other victims of the achievement gap, then leading for equity means giving our teachers, students and communities a reason to believe it is possible.

Victor Cary is a Partner at BayCES.  For more information on our Leading for Equity programs, click here or contact Sara Brown, Outreach Manager, at sara (at) bayces.org.