As a school leader, what are you doing each day to show your teachers, staff, students, and community that your school is committed to making sure every child has what they need to reach their full potential? How are students’ experiences, voices and choices integrated into every facet of the learning environment experience? What does an environment that centers students, holds them to high expectations, and allows them to feel a sense of belonging look like?
Dozens of reflection questions like these, and hundreds of possible answers in the form of action steps, comprise the core of The Leadership Academy’s Portrait of a Culturally Responsive School.
Based on our research and experience supporting education leaders across the country, the Portrait offers school leaders and their teams guidance for developing practices, policies and structures that support the establishment of schools intentionally built to ensure every child can experience meaningful, high quality learning that allows them to succeed in the classroom and in life. This guide is designed to support leaders and their school communities in creating opportunities to accelerate learning for every student.
It helps leaders to push beyond physical school building walls, seat time, school zones, and standardized exams, and instead to envision and realize schools that are intentionally built for every child.