Centering Equity In Professional Learning Communities

“Principals cannot solve all the societal problems that lead to educational inequities, but they can address key factors in schools that perpetuate inequities,” write Mark Anthony Gooden, et al., in “A Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) Approach to Building Equity-Centered Principals,” a scholarship review published in 2023 by The Wallace Foundation.

Common inequities in education include disparate disciplinary practices, differential enrollment in advanced coursework, uneven distribution of resources, implicit biases and stereotyping, and underrepresentation or misrepresentation of marginalized students in reading materials. These inequities contribute to widening academic and opportunity gaps and can result in significant harm to the social and emotional well-being of all students.

School leaders who have addressed these school inequities successfully have done so by:

• Implementing restorative practices;
• Disaggregating data by subgroups;
• Conducting “belonging” surveys;
• Utilizing title funds;
• Providing bias training; and
• Adopting culturally responsive curricula to meet the unique needs of all students.

The Gooden et al. review seeks ways in which systems can be designed to produce and support equity-​centered school leaders “who can meet one of today’s most pressing educational challenges.” These questions are apropos given the vastness of student diversity arising from ability, gender, religious affiliation, race, culture, economic background, and immigration status.

Equity challenges are documented in the Leaders We Need Now series, published by NAESP and the American Institutes for Research. The series explains the principal’s perspective on how schools and the principal profession changed postpandemic and what policy supports principals believe are necessary to support schools.

“Although some principals’ awareness of, and concerns about, equity were heightened, most principals had not launched professional learning, curriculum review, equity audits, or other efforts to improve equitable access to services, eliminate nondiscriminatory practices, or promote culturally responsive instruction, or they had put related programs on hold,” Leaders We Need Now says, due to lack of bandwidth and staying in tune with a rapidly changing political context.

An Equity Framework

Now that we have entered a new phase of postpandemic schooling, many school leaders are recommitting to leading with an equity lens. “A Culturally Responsive School Leadership Approach” offers a framework for addressing the essential question of what it can look like to lead with an equity lens. Its components are having a “critical consciousness,” ensuring that schools are inclusive places where all can feel welcomed, supporting teachers to provide culturally responsive classrooms, and engaging with a range of community members to define what educational justice can mean for a school’s students (see Fig. 1).

In reviewing the CRSL framework, we have found that many educators have the skills and behaviors necessary to having a critical consciousness, ensuring that schools are inclusive, and engaging with a range of community members to define the context for educational justice. But when it comes to supporting teachers to provide culturally responsive classrooms, a majority express a need for more guidance and support.

In order for school leaders to guide their teachers and staff through a changing landscape of equity issues, they first must commit to continual professional growth themselves. Whether it is by listening to podcasts, reading, participating in self-reflective work, or joining equity leadership groups, staying abreast of trends in educational equity is crucial to supporting staff on their equity journey. Use the curated list of Equity-Centered Leaders’ Must Reads to get started.

Leadership teams can start leveraging the CRSL framework to help support teachers in providing culturally responsive learning environments. Leadership teams and professional learning communities can begin by reading the framework, understanding the language, and using the terms to write an equity vision statement that’s customized to their own school context (Fig. 2).

Writing an Equity Vision Statement

Writing an equity vision statement as a leadership team offers several significant benefits. First and foremost, it fosters shared accountability across all staff levels. By establishing a common understanding of equity goals, it encourages every staff member to take ownership of equity initiatives and their implementation.

The statement provides a clear, concise, and actionable framework for the entire school community—a straightforward guide for decision-making that ensures easy understanding and application of equity considerations. This facilitates the translation of a vision into concrete actions and serves as a reference point for evaluating progress and initiatives.

An equity vision statement should address the specific needs and challenges of the school community. It customizes equity efforts to the unique context of the school, identifying and prioritizing the most pressing equity issues. This helps allocate resources to the areas of greatest need and demonstrates responsiveness to the school’s demographic and cultural makeup.

The process of developing the statement incorporates diverse perspectives through stakeholder engagement. By including input from teachers, students, parents, and community members, it ensures that traditionally marginalized voices are heard and valued. This approach builds buy-in and support for equity initiatives across the school community and leverages the collective wisdom and experiences of various groups.

Finally, the equity vision statement serves as a foundation for goal-setting and strategic planning. It provides a clear direction for developing specific, measurable equity goals and informs the creation of action plans and initiatives. The statement guides the allocation of resources and efforts toward equity priorities, establishing a benchmark against which progress can be measured and evaluated. By preceding goals and action plans, the equity vision statement ensures that all subsequent efforts are aligned with the overarching equity vision. Shared with and including input from parents, community partners, and students, the statement sends a clear message of the school’s commitment to the success of each and every learner.

Intentional Effort

The process of creating an equity vision statement matters, and it is intentional work. Leadership teams should therefore plan a beginning-of-the-year faculty or professional learning committee meeting to analyze and reflect on the language of the CRSL framework in a collaborative setting. School leaders should then allocate time for staff to read sample equity vision statements (Fig. 3) and use CRSL framework terms to formulate their own. Establishing a common language at the outset can promote understanding of key terms and enables staff to effectively implement action steps toward the realization of a vision.

By leveraging the CRSL framework to center equity in professional learning communities, school leaders can create a customized, actionable equity vision statement that helps transform their school. This comprehensive approach not only addresses systemic inequities but also fosters a culture of inclusion, empowerment, and continuous growth. It ensures that equity is not just a buzzword, but a living, breathing aspect of school culture that informs every decision and action.

Natalie Nelson is director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Special Programs at the Westbury Union Free School District in Old Westbury, New York.

Kaylen Tucker is associate executive director of communications for NAESP and editor-in-chief of Principal magazine.