What is Equity-Driven leadership?
Being an equity-driven leader requires one to be free of bias and face the institutional and structural factors that lead to equity gaps. It also requires finding strategies and solutions to overcome those gaps. Working through Cycle 1 of CalAPA I learned how to use data to identify an equity gap and develop possible strategies for improvement. viewing the data through the lens of an administrator forces me to grow into the role of an equity-driven leader because I have to be a model for and set the example from a place leadership to effect change through my team. “Equity centered leadership is essential, because through a sharp equity lens…leaders model and set direction; they shape an environment where equity and excellence are the standard for everything; they develop people personally and professionally; and they make the organization ‘work’ so that teachers and school-site staff can engage in effective teaching, learning, and support” (Rimmer, 2016).
How do I create a culture of equity?
In the current world, many circumstances have inspired me to reflect on my teaching practices and evaluate my work as an equitable teacher. With the discourses surrounding institutional racism and equity in distance teaching and learning, I realized there are several practices I can adapt to be more inclusive. My goal is to be able to take my work on my reflections to the first grade-level meeting I facilitate in the upcoming school year and open a discussion with my colleagues about equity-centered teaching practices. Yvette Jackson (2016) points out that in urban schools around the country, teachers “... are not inspired to believe in the potential of their students and are therefore unmotivated to search for, or even envision, possibilities for practices and opportunities that would surface the potential of these students”. I recognize that I have, at times, unfortunately, fallen into this category, and I believe my colleagues would recognize their tendencies also. Considering our classrooms and teaching will look very different in this COVID era, we have the opportunity to focus on equity and inclusion as we are adapting our resources to ensure we lead our students to self-efficacy that motivates them.
Creating a culture of equity extends to having difficult conversations with students. Racism and equity are often taboo topics of discussion, but considering my students have experiences with these topics, the discussions are necessary to empower children to advocate for themselves. In her TED talk, Liz Kleinrock says, “Teaching kids about equity is not about teaching them what to think. It’s about giving them the tools, strategies, and opportunities to practice how to think.”
Resources:
Jackson, Y. (2016, February). Transformational Pedagogy: Cashing the Promissory Note of Equity for Marginalized Students & All Students. Equity-Centered Capacity Building: Essential Approaches for Excellence & Sustainable System Transformation, 79.
Kleinrock, E. (2019, January). How to Teach Kids to Talk About Taboo Topics. TED-ED Talk. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/liz_kleinrock_how_to_teach_kids_to_talk_about_taboo_topics
Rimmer, J. (2016, February). Developing Principals as Equity-Centered Instructional Leaders. Equity-Centered Capacity Building: Essential Approaches for Excellence & Sustainable System Transformation, 94.
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