10 High-Leverage Practices for Equity
"Equity-centered capacity-building is a complex process coupling both structural and technical processes with those that are more social, cultural, and political" (Rimmer, 2016, February, Building the capacity, para. 2).
Ross & Berger's (2009) review of research literature on equity-focused leadership strategies revealed recurring themes that appear throughout the research literature on equity and leadership:
- A shared understanding of a vision and mission that prioritize equity beliefs: high achievement, access, and opportunities for all students, regardless of background, paired with a culture that understands openly discusses the impact of biases;
- Continuous and data-based monitoring of student progress and achievement to identify underperforming groups. Studying various sources of disaggregated data to monitor achievement and opportunity gaps is a core equity practice. It is paired with the use of inquiry and research-based practices to improve teaching and learning and the allocation of resources where they can best serve the students with the greatest need.
- A culture of collaboration and shared responsibility where educators work together to solve instructional problems and provide each student with appropriate supports and strategies based on their individual needs; and
- Community involvement that embraces diversity, avoids deficit thinking, and seeks ways to establish authentic relationships among culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse families and students.
How are these themes embedded in the 10 High-Leverage Leadership Practices for Equity?
While equity work is about improving outcomes for students, achieving the goal requires more than just instructional leadership. Mission, vision, and culture; instructional improvement; need-based resource allocation; and equity-focused scheduling, placement, hiring, retention, and capacity-building (systems and processes) work in concert to create the conditions for equity (Rimmer, 2016, February).
Leading for equity requires creating a school- and system-wide culture of equity. This represents a shift in the organizational culture for some organizations: "Embedded within each of the high-leverage practices is a paradigm shift in the kind of leadership that must take place for aspiring and practicing leaders to enact the practices in ways that lead to equity" (Galloway & Ishimaru, 2015, p. 385).
Core Practices
The first three practices are considered foundational. They must be in place in order for effective implementation of the remaining practices to occur. (Galloway & Ishimaru, 2015)
Engaging in self-reflection and growth for equity
Reflect on and examine your own biases, privileges, identities, and values.
Developing organizational leadership for equity
Build capacity in others to reflect on and examine their own biases, identities, privileges, and values both individually and in professional learning communities.
Developing an equity vision and establishing a school-wide commitment to it
The vision recognizes and addresses institutional biases and inequities. It establishes high expectations for teaching practice and student outcomes and for collective responsibility for student success. Importantly, It also provides for sustaining the change that equity requires.
Additional High-Leverage Leadership Practices
Use these practices to build on the foundation established with the three core practices above. (Galloway & Ishimaru, 2015)
Supervising for Equitable Teaching and Learning
Rimmer (2016, February) suggested that the most powerful leadership action to support equity and instructional improvement is increasing the time leaders spend focusing on instructional improvement.
Allocating Resources
"Effective leaders...use data to make strategic decisions about the allocation of...resources" (Rimmer, 2016, February, What is the Work, para. 10)
Redistribute resources, such as time, money, skills, and instructional coaching, so that more resources and high-quality resources go to the students impacted by the opportunity and achievement gaps.
Strategic Hiring and Placement of Personnel
Increase teacher diversity, recruit those with equity skills, and place highly effective and experienced teachers based on student need.
Fostering an Equitable School Culture
This may require a shift in the school and/or district culture for some sites.
According to Rimmer (2016, February), "Unfortunately, some teachers can come to accept mediocre student performance or even failure as normal, inevitable and outside their control" (What is the work, para. 2). Leading for equity means counteracting this mindset by establishing a mission, vision, and culture of high expectations for all students and teachers, using a research-based framework and evidence-based practices for improving teaching and learning, and providing time and collaboration for improving teaching and learning through inquiry, the effective use of data, and need-based allocation of resources.
Collaborating with Families and Communities
Cultural relevance and asset-based thinking are the keys to equitable family-community partnerships.
Modeling the Pursuit of Equity and Social Justice
Leaders consistently model the equity vision in their actions and behaviors. This is also a way of supporting others through the change process.
Influencing the Sociopolitical Context
In equity work, we focus on what we can change (organizational structures, beliefs, and practices) and advocate for those things currently outside our control (legislation and policies).