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Promote Equity Together





What is equity in education?

Equity means providing students with what they need to learn and succeed (Association of California School Administrators, 2018). The consistent achievement gap between different student groups has called the educational community to action. Every aspect is being analyzed to try to find how to provide students with equity. Instead of giving all districts and schools the same resources, attempts are being made to differentiate resources to support students and provide students at a disadvantage with opportunities that will allow them to catch up to their peers. The state is working on how to appropriately fund schools equitably. They are trying to motivate districts and schools in low-income areas to hire highly qualified teachers to provide the same quality of education as students would receive in higher-income neighborhoods. Teachers are encouraged to differentiate instruction for students in the classroom. The issue of moving past equality to equity in education is a complex task and needs the collaboration of all involved. School leaders must start system-wide approaches to tackle the issue.

How do you become an equity-driven leader?

Equity-driven leaders must promote positive learning outcomes for students of all social groups (Association of California School Administrators, 2018). These leaders must make it their mission to seek out and take steps to solve all inequities. Teachers are the most influential factor in student achievement (Rimmer, 2016). The role of the principal is to support teachers to be as effective as possible. They must set the culture of the school as one that knows All students can achieve at high levels. Due to the influence on teachers and school culture, the principal is the second most influential factor in student achievement. If you believe that all students can achieve, then it falls to the leader of the school to look into the data and identify students that are not meeting goals at the same rate as their peers. It is imperative to analyze these gaps and identify the reasons or factors behind the lack of achievement. 

 As mentioned earlier, the principal is tasked with setting and maintaining the culture of the school. An equity-driven leader ensures that the school’s culture is one that believes all students will achieve, this is also one of the four dimensions of instructional leadership (Center for Educational Leadership, 2015). If teachers and students do not believe that students can achieve academic excellence, it is unlikely they will. Teachers typically start their careers believing that they can help all students achieve excellence. As the years go by, excuses for why students are not achieving creep in. If teachers have tried many strategies and students did not make the growth they expected, the message slowly changes. All students can achieve if they are motivated, if they have parent support, if… This is a dangerous change in messaging. Equity-driven leaders must continue to empower teachers and staff to search for ways that ensure all students achieve excellence. They support the team to continually collaborate and find ways to ensure achievement. Equity-driven leaders must listen to the underlying messages present in staff comments and support teachers who struggle with this fixed mindset. 

 Unless the leader of an educational community aggressively seeks to combat underlying factors that contribute to equity issues, inequities among student groups will continue to thrive. 

 References:
Association of California School Administrators. (2018, February). Promoting equity in K-12 for school leaders. Leadership. Retrieved from https://content.acsa.org

 Center for Educational Leadership. (2015). Four dimensions of instructional leadership. University of Washington. Retrieved from http://info.k-12leadership.org/hs-fs/hub/381270/file-2563776150-pdf/documents/tools/UWCEL-4D-Smart-Card-V2.0.pdf?hsCtaTracking=93f13f05-1fed-4b67-ae6a-0a69bdb1e2c7%7Ccf854e41-63f2-4648-bd9c-da7d32a5b8ad

 Rimmer, J. (2016, February). Developing principals as equity-centered instructional leaders. Equity-Centered Capacity Building. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com

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