Learn how educational leaders are addressing inequity in schools and districts and through policy. Insights delivered right to your inbox.

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Leading for the Future, Learning from the Past

Like a new school year, a new calendar year elicits the excitement of new beginnings and a renewed energy for all the possibilities ahead. That ...

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The Complexity of Heritage Months

As our country has commemorated National Hispanic American (Latinx) Heritage Month over the past few weeks, we’ve seen countless expressions of gratitude for the contributions ...

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New in 2023: 15 Equity-Centered Professional Learning Leadership Books for Back to School

Through research and 20 years of experience working with nearly 14,000 education leaders across the country, we know that effective professional learning is critically important ...

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From Superhero to Super System: Leveling Up Leadership for Culturally Responsive Schools

Imagine walking into a classroom where students' identities are affirmed and reflected in the curriculum, where students are held to high expectations and given the ...

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Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent discusses culturally responsive leadership in new video

“Being culturally responsive is about looking at a curriculum, and saying, ‘What are the changes that we need to make to be able to present ...

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Back to school supplies: Resources for creating culturally responsive schools

As you welcome students, families, and staff back to school, what kind of culture and climate are you creating in your own building or in ...

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Lead for a safe and healthy learning environment

When the news about Uvalde broke last week, I was in a meeting with a dozen school leaders of color. We had come together as ...

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We must fight hate with education

Our hearts are heavy. Over the weekend, violent hate crimes ravaged communities in Buffalo, NY and Dallas, TX. In Buffalo, a white man opened fire ...

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Leading by listening: How one district is using community feedback to drive change

When Aaron Jennings became Chelsea School District’s first ever Equity, Diversity, and Excellence Officer in the fall of 2020, he embarked on a listening and ...

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Black history is not a month. Let’s design schools to serve every student every single day.

"It's not possible to learn the long, painful, complicated, beautiful, resilient, and magical history of being Black in the United States in 28 days - ...

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A holiday message from President and CEO Nancy Gutierrez

Wishing you a joyful holiday season from our team at The Leadership Academy. Please take a minute to watch a holiday message from our President &  CEO ...

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Two dozen aspiring superintendents of color graduate from the Influence 100 program in MA

For Leahy School Principal Ethel Cruz of Lawrence, MA, the superintendency once seemed like an unattainable goal. Cruz’s perspective shifted, however, thanks to Influence 100, ...

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Students want to know: Will l feel safe, respected and valued?

The only time my 15-year-old daughter stepped into her high school in the 2020-21 school year was for her state exams. Every other day of ...

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Lead for a young person you love and watch your students flourish

Dearest educational equity champions & leaders, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you. You have led your school or school system to the ...

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Getting questions about critical race theory? Advocate for culturally responsive learning

“Are you teaching our children critical race theory?” “Are you indoctrinating our children?” School and school system leaders are increasingly getting these questions from parents and politicians as schools take on ...

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Culturally responsive budgeting means being strategic and investing in leaders

As state and school system leaders consider how to spend the billions of dollars devoted to K-12 education through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) provisions of the American ...

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#GivingTuesday: Give students the education leaders they need

While 2020 has been full of challenges, The Leadership Academy has so much to be thankful for.

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We must tell the whole truth about our nation’s racist past

“The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it—at no matter ...

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In Latinos for Ed blog, CEO calls for combating AAPI hate

As with any pandemic, any crisis, fear is bringing out the worst in people.

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Professional learning cannot – and need not – stop in our remote world

In this piece we focus on a few moves we have found are essential for facilitating continuous professional learning for leaders in a virtual world. 

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Leading school systems through the aftershocks of Covid-19

As education leaders navigate their communities through one of the greatest crises in this nation’s history, it is crucial that they plan for what comes after.

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Coronavirus does not discriminate, and neither should we

As I write this, we all continue to determine how to respond to the coronavirus situation in ways that will best keep the people we ...

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An inside look at a comprehensive district-wide approach to leading for equity

Over the last two weeks, members of my team and I have taken a deep dive in two school systems we have been partnering with for some time – Des Moines, IA, and Lexington One, SC. It was a humbling and inspiring experience that I will not soon forget.

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#EquityReads 2019

At the NYC Leadership Academy, we are always looking to learn from other experts in education leadership and equity to inform and sharpen our work. That means we are ...

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Diversify ed leadership pipelines to transform student learning

Just as it is critical to bring together a diverse set of students to enhance learning, it is also imperative to recruit, retain, and properly develop and support a diverse pipeline of effective school and school system leaders.

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Seeing Others’ Humanity Builds Our Capacity as Leaders

Welcome back and congratulations on a new school year! I hope your summer had the right mix of professional learning, planning, and relaxation. While the ...

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Every second of learning counts for our most vulnerable students

Young people in the juvenile justice system are the most underserved students in the country. When justice jurisdictions design systems, education is rarely top of mind.

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Expect pushback when leading for equity 

As more school districts engage in equity-focused professional learning, we are unsurprisingly seeing some tension and pushback as their teams grapple with this work.

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Returning home to lead a school

We need to love these kids unconditionally and hold them to high expectations because I know they can do it. We just need to give them the tools.

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How one Virginia district is developing principal supervisors to transform schools

We took a deep look at the role of our principal supervisors. Over two years, we overhauled that role and created a principal coaching and mentoring program that is starting to show results in our schools. Here’s how we did it.

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An international movement calls for greater investment in school leaders

While schools in Nairobi face different challenges from schools in Hong Kong or India or the U.S., there is increasing agreement across contexts that to transform schools, you need great school leaders.

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#HowILeadForEquity: Share your stories

We must continue to push this work forward. Our young people are counting on us. Together, our leadership has the potential to exponentially decrease the number of inequities facing our students.

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EquityReads 2018

Talking with a teacher about whom she is -- and is not -- calling on in class. Discussing the fact that some groups of students ...

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Learning how to develop lead learners: Lessons from our first 15 years

Fifteen years ago, many of New York City’s schools were struggling with rapid principal turnover. On top of that, the city was expecting to lose half of its principals to retirement in the next few years, creating a system of potentially “leaderless” schools. The Leadership Academy launched in 2003 to fill this gap…

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The secret to a strong plan: Making it doable

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” These words are as true today as when poet Robert Burns wrote them hundreds of years ago. In schools, good planning articulates a vision for student success. Throughout my career as an educator, I have engaged in strategic planning.

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Leaders must be allies for undocumented students

The fear in the town of Morristown, Tennessee, was palpable. A day after immigration agents raided a meatpacking plant there a few weeks ago, more than 500 young people stayed home from school. For many, they thought they would be safer at home than in school.

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How do you take on bias in your school? Practice.

Veteran principal Rodney Moore had an important decision to make. After hearing that English language learners were feeling marginalized and unwelcome, he wondered if he should dedicate a staff meeting to discussing their experiences; provide cultural proficiency training to the entire staff; or reach out to parents for help.

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CEO Irma Zardoya on the National School Walkout

Something beautiful and inspirational happened yesterday in schools across America. Students were given a voice, and the world listened.

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Don’t let fear interfere with equity

Becoming the superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools several years ago put me on a racial equity journey that forever changed who I am as an educational leader.

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