Chief Equity Advocate

1-minute summary; 6-minute read Core Question:  How do we touch hearts and minds for good? “Everything hangs on one’s thinking …” – Seneca “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford Core Idea: What we aim at … we eventually achieve.   Words matter. Values matter. Start by defining our north star…

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Making Equity Progress

Start anywhere but start now: An Equity Review Process: 10-minute read “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke Core Thesis:  Good Equity Work Can Be Done Over the last five years, I have read every book on district-wide equity, tracked equity success stories…

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Leadership • Equity • Culture

 More Books for January 2023 4-minute read Best Books in: Leadership:  6 Types of Working Genius and nine others Equity: The Third Reconstruction and three others Culture: The Burnout Epidemic and two others Bonus:  The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams … and others   Leadership:   The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand…

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Wenatchee’s Equity Story

Equity:  a Plan and Promise for Future-Ready Students An Interview with Dr. Paul Gordon, (outgoing) Superintendent, Wenatchee WA – May 3, 2022 For the last three years, Wenatchee has been on an equity journey initiated by Superintendent, Dr. Paul Gordon We Promise … is at the heart of our Strategic Plan Our strategic plan was…

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One District’s Equity Journey

Puyallup’s Equity Journey  An interview with Dr. John Polm, Superintendent of Puyallup (WA) Schools. The Journey Begins Over the last decade Puyallup’s demographic has shifted.  From 18% Free and Reduced Lunch to 40%.  From 20% diversity to 47%.  Equity work began in 2017, mostly in curriculum and professional development. Professional Learning Timeline Looking back, Puyallup’s…

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More books on discernment and equity

do you want a Future of Decency Equality and real social justice wall decor

More Books … I’ll start with a list of books that fit our theme of discernment … and adaptive leadership (last month’s theme) … here are several titles that resonate: Leadership … discernment Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People You Don’t Agree with or Like or Trust by Adam Kahane  | Jun 5, 2017 This…

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Advancing Equity in Times of COVID

Doing the Right Thing The time is always right to do what is right. – MLK Jr Just too crazy Yes, we are over the top with COVID right now and racial equity is a hot topic.  AND those two together remind us that our students of color have lost the most over our two…

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How do you grow student resiliency?

Equity = Safety > Belonging > Achievement The new year started with hope and enthusiasm.  Then, from day one transportation was a challenge.  Lunch was a challenge.  Classroom behavior was a challenge.  No, it wasn’t COVID. Unknowingly, we had tripped trauma triggers for dozens of students. For years, we planned to combine two schools.  An…

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Adapting for Equity: Chicago’s Story

Adapting for Equity: Chicago’s Story Districts that Succeed: Karen Chenoweth’s new book, Districts that Succeed: breaking the correlation between race, poverty and achievement, is a great book.  Chenoweth tells how five districts, large and small, have created student achievement success. She used the research by Sean Reardon (Stanford) showing district outliers that outperformed districts with…

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Review: Improvement in Action

Review:  Improvement in Action: by Anthony S. Bryk What a gift! This book captures 30 years of school DISTRICT improvement and provides six case studies. Anthony S. Bryk shares insights from the forefront of the improvement field: Chicago: For many years, Anthony Bryk, headed the University of Chicago Consortium for School Research.  They identified 100…

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