Candice Dowd Maxwell – författare

Shatter the System is a critique of the American education system and the social and cultural conditioning that has disadvantaged some students while advancing others. The book introduces the Equitable-Social Change Process (ESCP) model for social justice advocates and equity leaders in schools and other organizations to guide their equity efforts. The model moves leaders through four phases from awareness to accountability to ensure the equity efforts are sustainable to actionable for all stakeholders. Interwoven throughout the book is the humility, diversity, inclusion, equity framework (HDEI). Humility is a part of the framing, and also a value—a competency an equity leaders needs to facilitate conversations about the intersectionality of race, gender, identity and a host of other issues that affect behavior guidance, relationships, and curriculum. Lastly, Shatter the System offers activities, exercises, strategic equity planning ideas, and equity auditing questions to assist school and other similar organizations to transform their schools to center and advance equity. It also is a clarion call for those leaders to leverage their power, positions, and privileges to honor the dignity of others and create allyships and cross-cultural alliances for social change.

Shatter the System is a critique of the American education system and the social and cultural conditioning that has disadvantaged some students while advancing others. The book introduces the Equitable-Social Change Process (ESCP) model for social justice advocates and equity leaders in schools and other organizations to guide their equity efforts. The model moves leaders through four phases from awareness to accountability to ensure the equity efforts are sustainable to actionable for all stakeholders. Interwoven throughout the book is the humility, diversity, inclusion, equity framework (HDEI). Humility is a part of the framing, and also a value—a competency an equity leaders needs to facilitate conversations about the intersectionality of race, gender, identity and a host of other issues that affect behavior guidance, relationships, and curriculum. Lastly, Shatter the System offers activities, exercises, strategic equity planning ideas, and equity auditing questions to assist school and other similar organizations to transform their schools to center and advance equity. It also is a clarion call for those leaders to leverage their power, positions, and privileges to honor the dignity of others and create allyships and cross-cultural alliances for social change.

Creating a school and community culture where students and staff are valued and respected and where the curriculum and students' social and emotional wellness are prioritized is at the heart of this book. Equity Implementation: A Case Study and Practices for Educators and Leaders is the follow-up to Shatter the System: Equity Leadership and Social Justice Advocacy in Education. This book draws on the major themes and frameworks presented in Shatter the System to take you on a journey in the life of a school district that reflects the many challenges and triumphs schools experience today. It highlights how educators and leaders within the Ascension School District, a fictitious district, collaborate with their students, school board members, colleagues, and other concerned partners to promote transformational changes to curriculum and social and emotional wellness for all members of the school’s community. Equity-mindful and equity-minded reflections, practices, exercises, and activities are woven throughout the book to support individuals and professional learning communities to build the capacity of equity implementation through an institutional, individual, and interpersonal equity lens.