This volume offers the personal narratives of school, district, and state education leaders engaged in ongoing pursuits of equity, as well as findings from research and from research-practice partnerships. The chapters offer glimmers of hope through glimpses into the experiences of education leaders in the US and New Zealand. None of the stories told offer a fool-proof formula for achieving the goal of culturally responsive, socially just, equity-minded schools. They each present the inherent complexities of enacting change in schools and school systems, and the blunders that happen along the way. Each chapter begins with guiding questions to focus readers’ attention as they listen to – and really hear – the lived experiences of these authors. Chapters end with reflection questions to push others to work to move aspiration into action, to build ideas of how to engage with communities in meaningful and productive ways, and how to keep stoking the passion and dedication to face the next hurdle. Taken as a whole, the book offers a reminder to pause and celebrate small successes along the way. The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on communities of color make an edited volume with accessible stories of culturally responsive leadership for social justice particularly relevant, even necessary.
