Renowned educators and leaders Aaron Thompson, Ph.D., Houston Barber, Ph.D., and Joe Cuseo, Ph.D., collaborate to share their collective knowledge on the successful implementation of diversity into the classroom and community―across all ages and levels.
This publication provides future and current educational leaders with effective, research-based strategies for delivering culturally competent, responsive, and inclusive school leadership. The tools offered serve to close the achievement gap while simultaneously promoting the academic achievement and personal development of all students. Created with P-20 students in mind, these proven tactics are applicable across the entire spectrum of education and community development.
Features include:
- Authors’ Experiences
- Internet Resources
- Practical Applications
- Chapter Purpose and Preview
This is what Allison Slone, Special Education Teacher and Founder of Kentucky Teachers in The Know, has to say:
In a time when equity, diversity, and social justice are the center of societal unrest and revolution, now more than ever we need the kind of leadership in education that results in innovation, growth mindset, inclusiveness, and unbiased decision making.
In Implementing Innovative Leadership In An Inclusive Learning Environment, Thompson, Barber, and Cuseo share how the most effective qualities of school leadership increase buy-in, engagement, and success of both educators and students, especially minority students when diversity in curriculum is intentional, purposeful, and all-encompassing. Reading this book was like having everything I had ever personally felt, believed, or experienced in my own leadership journey spelled out in front of me.
Thompson, Barber, and Cuseo show how leadership often materializes from a place of need or passion rather than training or certification. My own leadership status came from a need to change the education system to ensure my son and others like him, diagnosed with dyslexia, received an appropriate, equitable education. That led to ensuring teachers had the information and resources they needed to stay in the know. I use many of the leadership best practices included in this book to lead twenty-two thousand plus educators by being transparent, dependable, reflective, and resourceful. I always say leading from the front isn’t always the best leadership. Great leadership often means standing beside your charge, walking hand in hand. Accomplished leadership comes when you can stand behind them providing encouragement and guidance, as they pave their own leadership journey.
The book demonstrates exactly that, how good leaders encourage others to be leaders, form groups that set and meet goals, give presentations that immerse participants in the learning process, design assessments and activities that address cultural differences and achievement gaps, and strive to not only own, but also address, their own unintended biases. I’ve always considered myself to be fair and open minded, but as I read this book I often found myself self-reflecting about my own practices and misconceptions.
Through the use of personal stories, quotes, best practices, reflective questioning, and shared resources Thompson, Barber, and Cuseo naturally urge readers to reflect on their personal journey, evaluate prior actions and decisions, and develop a new mindset that includes a more solutions oriented, culturally competent, and inclusive approach to leadership. This book is the most relevant, comprehendible, and useful guide to date that addresses how leadership effectiveness positively impacts diversity in education and results in higher success rates for minority students.
