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Leading for Equity

**The Leadership Academy. (2020). Equity leadership dispositions. Available at https://www.leadershipacademy.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/Rebrand-Version-Equity-Leadership-Dispositions.pdf.

This document outlines six research-based dispositions principals must have for equity-driven school leadership. For each disposition, the author briefly describes the attitudes or beliefs a principal should have, instructions on how to implement them in principals’ daily work, and what kinds of questions principals can ask to self-reflect on their strengths and areas for growth. Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) uses these dispositions to reflect what they want their school leaders to demonstrate.

Long Beach Unified School District. (2020). Principal 2020-2021 leadership domains rubric. Available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aG1RVPgE0r6XL_EqlC1ktTzt_UmZCAAw/view.

LBUSD uses this rubric to assess their school leaders in seven domains: teaching and learning; environment and equity; communication and engagement; supervision, evaluation, and employee development; professionalism, disposition, and ethics; strategy and planning; and organization and management. Across all domains, performance levels, and indicators, the highlighted sections serve to connect the rubric to the district’s vision of educational equity for all students.

Rimmer, J. (2016). Developing principals as equity-centered instructional leaders. Available at https://capacitybuildingnetwork.org/article9/.

This article explores what it means to be a school leader who keeps equity at the center of their work, and how systems can build capacity to develop more of these leaders. The author identifies four central areas of principals’ work where equity should be at the forefront: (1) creating a school culture and mission that value inclusivity, diversity, rigor, and opportunities for all students, (2) supporting teachers to have strong instructional practices that embrace the values of the school, (3) allocating resources in ways that acknowledge that students need varying levels of support to meet the same high standards, and (4) managing the operations and structures of schools so they are aligned with the other three dimensions. Building these capacities among principals requires that school leaders have opportunities to self-reflect, participate in inquiry, engage collaboratively with their peers, receive on-the-job and differentiated professional development, and work with instructional content that supports an equity-driven school.

Baker, J. & An, K. D. (2019, September). Coaching as a way of being. School Administrator. Available at https://www.lbschools.net/Asset/Files/Superintendent/Publications/ BakerAn-CoachingasaWayofBeing.pdf. 

In 2005, LBUSD rebuilt their professional development program for school leaders. This article describes the subsequent evolution of the program, its main components (e.g., building a strong pipeline of future leaders, principal-to-principal coaching, coaching for those working in the central office), and the district’s lessons learned through the years.

**This document is a priority reading.