Principal Leadership for Racial Equity
A Field Guide for Developing Race Consciousness
- Candace Raskin - Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA
- Melissa Krull
- Antonia Felix
Foreword by Glenn E. Singleton, A Joint Publication with Learning Forward
The COVID 19 pandemic has illuminated deep-seated structural inequities in our schools and across society. More than ever, education leaders are being challenged to take action to disrupt the institutional racism that undergirds many of our longstanding policies and practices. Our students are challenging us to step up and be antiracists who commit to the uncompromising belief all children can learn and deserve an exceptional education. Based on 10 years of work leading the Institute for Courageous Principal Leadership, this book guides leaders to expanding their racial consciousness through self-reflection and provides the tools they need to counter implicit bias and respond to resistance. Grounded in research, but written in practitioner-friendly language, this book:
• Focuses on systemic leadership and institutional failures as the source of predictable student outcomes
• Leverages research and theory to create a process for principals to build racially equitable practices
• Navigates the politics of leadership without compromising student achievement
The practical lessons and strategies in this book will equip you with the skills to implement the leadership and actions that must be taken to confront the reality of systemic racism in education and transform schools into learning environments with a student-centered commitment to high achievement for every learner.
Free resources
Podcast: Navigating Resistance to Equity Work with Candace Raskin & Melissa Krull
In this Leaders Coaching Leaders podcast episode, Candace Raskin and Melissa Krull discuss why there is resistance to "doing what's right for students," and how school leaders can start to break down or go around that resistance.
"Principal Leadership for Racial Equity offers readers a theory of action surrounding the role we must take in our schools and districts to support our next generation learners. Implicit biases must be eradicated in order for each student to reach their own limitless potential. The authors provide clear examples, anecdotes, insights, and research to support a paradigm shift that will support learners and their overall achievement. Now is the time, the space, and the place to ensure that our youth thrive."
"Principal Leadership for Racial Equity: A Field Guide for Developing Racial Consciousness in School Principals provides tools and reflection for all leaders in education to begin to become true agents of change in our schools and more importantly come to grips with their own biases so that we see more commonalities. This book will allow us to lean into discomfort and become more human."
"Principal Leadership for Racial Equity: A Field Guide for Developing Racial Consciousness in School Principals is a thoughtful, well written book that is current, relevant, and needed for now and the future. I strongly recommend this book for current and aspiring administrators. The book would be an excellent resource for a book study or a graduate course. I am eager to share this book with my colleagues and administrators I mentor. This book will be a valuable addition to my professional library."
"At this critical juncture in which the deleterious impact of race is so profoundly apparent in our schools, Krull, Raskin and Felix have provided us with an epistemological tour de force . Research, evidence, strategies and practices have been blended into a vital metanarrative from which leaders can mindfully inspire and instill in staff the racial consciousness needed to confidently enable students of color to demonstrate their innate propensity for high intellectual performances, self-determination and personal agency."
"The authors of Principal Leadership for Racial Equity mince no words and address head on the brass tacks issues that need to be confronted if American education is going to make any headway related to respecting and valuing every human being as a human being regardless of race, ethnicity, background, or any other factor. In the current political and social environment, this issue is more important than ever. This book expands on, differentiates itself from and is more direct than any other publications out right now on how to go about leadership equity work."
"I only wish that this book had been available during my service in public schools – as a principal, Assistant Superintendent and Superintendent. I would recommend that all leaders and educators who are interested in creating an environment of true understanding and equity utilize this text as the foundation for intentional professional learning, reflection and committed action. As a leadership coach, this book will be an invaluable resource. Principal Leadership for Racial Equity is a gift- to both adults and more importantly students!"
"Lights! Camera! Action! Inequities in education for students of color are now in focus and Principal Leadership for Racial Equity addresses the actions to be taken to make sure all students are successful."
"The timing for Principal Leadership for Racial Equity is perfect and the structure of this book will best support leaders address issues we all face in the field."
"Leading for equity requires deep personal reflection, courage, and skill. This book provides tools and resources to tap into all three. Reading and completing the exercises within this book provide a platform for knowing yourself and developing that knowledge into a set of behaviors and actions that create equitable conditions within your school or organization. Leaders who are continually growing in their confidence to do what is just and their ability to guide whole communities of practice in this work will want to learn from the experience and expertise of these authors. It will make a positive difference in the lives of the students and families in their schools."
"Principal Leadership for Racial Equity prompts deep personal reflection and goes beyond the ‘surface’ level work to get to the focus of this work. This topic can be a ‘courageous’ undertaking and this book provides the tools and personal reflection needed to truly engage in order to interrupt the cycle of practices that do not work for all students. It is not good enough to focus on success for most students – we need to focus on equity for all students!"