DISTRICT SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT EQUITABLE AND HIGH-QUALITY TEACHING AND LEARNING

Meredith I. Honig, Ph.D.
Professor, Education Policy, Organizations & Leadership
Director, District Leadership Design Lab (DL2)
University of Washington

This session examines an urgent challenge facing school districts in Canadian provinces as they return to in-person schooling: How to ensure each school principal has the support necessary for their successful leadership of equitable teaching and learning? Meredith’s research and district partnerships highlight that doing so requires fundamental shifts throughout central offices starting with principal supervision. In this session, we will zero in on which new forms of principal supervision help principals grow as equity-focused instructional leadership. What does that principal supervision involve day-to-day? How can districts and provinces support principal supervisors’ success? Why is now the time to make those changes? We will explore the research findings alongside practical examples and consider implications for our own work.

This session draws on Meredith’s extensive research on principal supervision and central office leadership in U.S. contexts as well as her team’s district partnerships, and her leadership of Leadership for Learning, the University of Washington’s nationally recognized Ed.D. and superintendent certification program. Key takeaways from Meredith’s most recent book Supervising Principals for Instructional Leadership: A Teaching and Learning Approach will be shared.

Date: August 24, 2021 Time: 11:00am EST

PRIORITIZING SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING FOR OUR STUDENTS

Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, PhD
NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Schonert-Reichl is a renowned expert in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL) research with children and adolescents, particularly in relation to the identification of the processes and mechanisms that foster positive human qualities such as empathy, compassion, altruism, and resiliency. For more than two decades, Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research has focused on the social and emotional development of children and adolescents in school and community settings. Her current projects include studies examining the effectiveness of classroom-based universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs including the MindUp, program, and the Random Acts of Kindness program. Dr. Schonert-Reichl is also conducting interdisciplinary research in collaboration with neuroscientists and psychobiologists examining the relation of executive functions and biological processes to children’s social and emotional development in school settings.

This session will focus on the promotion of social and emotional learning (SEL) to transform the lives of students and educators. The session will provide a guide for understanding how systemic approaches to SEL provide a foundation for developing equitable learning contexts that promote the social and emotional competencies of adults and children to support success and well-being. Implementation and leadership strategies that are successfully being used in Districts will be shared, including information on how SEL can be promoted as students return to school post pandemic.

Date: August 31, 2021 Time: 10:30am EST

CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Dr. Muhammad Khalifia
Professor of Educational Administration
Executive Director of Urban and Rural Initiatives
Ohio State University

How should humanization, anti-oppressiveness, and cultural responsiveness be systematized in school? This presentation focuses on how school leaders can effectively serve minoritized students—those who have been historically marginalized in school and society. The lecture suggests that leaders must be central to culturally responsive school reforms, and demonstrates how leaders can engage students, parents, teachers, and communities in ways that positively impact learning by honouring indigenous heritages and local cultural practices.

Dr. Khalifa explores three basic premises. First, that a full-fledged and nuanced understanding of “cultural responsiveness” is essential to successful school leadership. Second, that cultural responsiveness will not flourish and succeed in schools without sustained efforts by school leaders to define and promote it. Finally, that culturally responsive school leadership comprises a number of crucial leadership behaviors, which include critical self-reflection; the development of culturally responsive teachers; the promotion of inclusive, anti-oppressive school environments; and engagement with students’ indigenous community contexts.

In this particular, we take a much deeper look at Critical Self-Reflection. Based on ethnographic research of a culturally responsive school principal, I’ll provide educators with pedagogy and strategies for immediate implementation. The lecture ends by highlighting a central theme of community and how community-based knowledge should be positioned in all aspects of schooling. We anchor the lecture with several activities that get leaders to begin thinking about Culturally Responsive School Leadership. Implementation strategies that are successfully being used in Districts will be shared.

Date: September 30, 2021 Time: 11:00am EST

DEEPENING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF EQUITY, INCLUSION & DIVERSITY

Dr. Michele Manocchi
Founder & Owner of Michele Manocchi Organizational Consulting
Coordinator for MA in Research for Policy and Evaluation at the University of Western Ontario

This module has been designed to build on the learnings from Module 3, Culturally Responsive School Leadership with Dr. Muhammad Khalifa. It will focus more deeply on understanding that inclusion is a process. It will explore what inclusion means at the school district level through the lens of leadership. Michele will describe how he supports organizations and communities in tackling complex social issues such as equity, diversity, inclusion, racism, systemic discrimination, and implicit bias.

Inclusion is not a goal that we can achieve once and for all, but a process that we want to experience and, hopefully, enjoy. With this necessary clarification in mind, Michele will explore what inclusion means at the individual and organizational levels, with a specific lens on leadership. He will also consider active listening and speaking as crucial game-changers.

Key areas of focus:

• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Some definitions and clarifications.
• Why we need a Systemic Approach and an Intersectional lens.
• What Culture is and how we talk about it.
• Why intercultural relationships can be so difficult and frustrating?
• The intrinsic power of our privileges.
• What can we do at the individual, organizational, and community levels?

Date: October 21, 2021 Time: 11:00am EST

PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD’S JOURNEY TOWARDS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Speakers: Rashmi Swarup, Director of Education, Neerja Punjabi, Superintendent of Education; Yonnette Dey, Superintendent of Education; and Farah Slimati, Vice Principal. 

Informed and inspired by the Ministry Review, the Peel District School Board has embarked on a journey to build capacity for culturally responsive school leadership in all schools. This shared commitment by school administrative teams, Superintendents of Education and the Director’s Office, informs our work and our guiding principles as a school Board.

Dr. M. Khalifa’s book, Culturally Responsive School Leadership, has been the most influential tool to achieve that goal. His work challenges our leaders to interrogate leadership behaviours from an anti-oppressive and anti-colonial lens to confront the disparities in outcomes for Black and Indigenous students. The Peel Board believes that leadership training and development is the key ingredient to ensure system transformation for the most underserved students. 

The Ministry Review was an extensive audit of our system, and we are accountable to its Directives. We believe that community-based leadership in all current and future school leaders is an asset. It leverages the goals, aspirations, and commitments of our diverse community and positively impacts our programs, policies, and practices. We are committed to being intentional in our approach to be responsive and critically self-reflective about our practice as it relates to race. In Peel, this journey begins with our Parent Advocacy Groups, Trustees, committed leaders like Rashmi Swarup (Director of Education), Neerja Punjabi (SOE), Yonnette Dey (SOE) and Farah Slimati (VP).

Date: November 10, 2021 Time: 11:00am EST

DEVELOPING A QUALITY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WITH A FOCUS ON EQUITY

Dr. Kenneth Leithwood
Emeritus Professor at the University of Toronto, OISE 

and

Prof. Dr. Philip Hallinger
TSDF Chair Professor of Leadership and Sustainable Development at College of Management, Mahidol University

Evidence shows that nothing a district can do to improve equitable outcomes for its students is more powerful than improving the capacities and dispositions of its school-level leaders. Based on the most recent research, this session will identify the characteristics of effective approaches to leadership development with special attention to those capacities school leaders need to improve equitable outcomes for students.

This module will focus on the components of a quality leadership development program that school districts can consider when building the capacity of their leadership teams.

Specifics examples shared in this session will focus on the behaviors, practices and specialized professional knowledge potentially needed to be successful as an educational leader and processes that will assist districts in the acquisition of leadership skills.

Date: November 18, 2021 Time: 11:00am EST

BUILDING DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE THROUGH EFFECTIVE HIRING PRACTICES

Janet Stewart
Founder & Principal Consultant, EduSelect

Building and sustaining efforts related to equity to enhance student success requires attention not only to programs and policies, but also our workforce. As leaders, if we are serious about equity to benefit students, we must also build and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel they belong. An important starting place is examining human resource practices and how we hire. This critical step in an employment relationship – the entryway to the future generation of workers – needs to be considered if leaders are serious about equity. In this session, current human resource issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion will be discussed, and relevant research will be examined. The benefits of committing to this important work will be deliberated, as will the many ways unconscious bias impact human resource decision-making processes. Finally, several current, relevant, and specific employee recruitment, selection and retention strategies will be presented.

Janet has held a variety of senior and executive leadership roles within the British Columbia K-12 sector and recently founded EduSelect Services, a K-12 consultancy focused on supporting school districts across Canada with human resource practices. Her book, Hiring Well: Building Strong Selection Practices in K-12 was published in April 2021.

Date: December 1, 2021 Time: 11:00am EST