Education Week - September 23, 2020 - 24

leaders. Otherwise, well-intentioned professors can
feel like they are swimming against the tide and will
have limited impact.
Until most education programs double down
on creating anti-racist leaders, what can eager
principals do?
Know, first of all, it's more than just reading a
couple of books, Welton warned.
It takes time and it has to be repeated-over and
over. It's uncomfortable-both for the principal,
who may be examining their own identity for the
first time, and the teachers and staff who're going
to be asked to do so. And there will be pushback,
especially from those who see the world through
race-neutral lenses or are wedded to colorblindness.
People may leave. They may think the principal who
is asking them to think critically about race is the
one being divisive-or even the one being racist, said
Gooden of Teachers College.
Said Welton, "It's about everyone being committed
and bought into doing the hard work, really doing the
important reflective work about their own identity,
their attitudes that they bring to the table. But also
not just doing that work but constantly reflecting
on how systems, structures, norms continue to
reproduce racism within schools-who are they
serving, who are they not serving-and continuously
doing that work and not letting it just be a single
moment."
Until anti-racist leadership training becomes more
widely available, school leaders can do some things
immediately, according to some experts:
*Read widely on what it means to be an anti-racist
leader.
*Ask yourself: What does it mean to be a white,
Black, or Latino, Asian, or Indigenous person? What
privileges do or do not accompany that identity?
*Connect with an expert in anti-racist leadership
as well as other principals who are doing this work.
Having a like-minded group of leaders for mutual
support and problem-solving can be a tremendous
asset.
*Review curriculum, building- and district-level
data, and school policies with the goal of rooting
out inequities. Review textbooks to ensure that
they represent the student body-and the country-
and not simply default to whiteness as the norm.
Examine hiring practices that may intentionally or
unintentionally privilege one group of candidates over
others.
*Develop skills to speak with staff about race and
racism.

This is not a solo
journey, nor can it
be accomplished in
a vacuum.

24 | EDUCATION WEEK | September 23, 2020 | www.edweek.org

*Engage staff. Be vulnerable and share with
your staff the steps you're taking to become
more racially aware. Facilitate discussions and
professional development on race, race neutrality,
and colorblindness, and provide materials on antiracism to staff.
*Be open to discussing racist incidents that occur
inside and outside of school with students.
*Don't assume you know what to do. Ask the community-especially parents and students-what they need
and how you can improve. Let them be an active part of
the process, beyond once-a-year climate surveys.
*Develop a network of support outside your school
district. "If you don't have a network, you'll hit an
emotional and psychological wall," Carpenter said.
"You are going to trend toward burnout and fatigue."
In a profession where much of the workforce is
white-78 percent for principals and 79 percent for
teachers-the work of creating anti-racist schools cannot be left to Black and other educators of color. For
this effort to be truly transformative, white educators
must get on board.
"White school leaders really need to be deeply reflective every time they are making a decision," Welton said. "They need to be reflective about how their
own white privilege and overall whiteness play into
the decision they are making."
This is not a solo journey, nor can it be accomplished
in a vacuum, according to the experts. Principals need
to know that their superintendents and school boards
will have their backs when those who have historically
wielded power and privilege feel threatened. They
also need committed teacher-leaders, political leaders, and community power brokers on board.
In order to get over that hurdle, school leaders must
be "willing not to capitulate to the very vocal privileged faction of the community," Welton said. "They
need to be willing to do what's right for those who
have been grossly underserved in their community."
How do you evaluate whether you've been successful?
The evidence should be visible in discipline and
suspension data, staff hiring, student placement in
higher-level courses, and how connected students and
communities feel to their school.
But Welton said that commonly used accountability
measures will not capture the full scope; principals'
long-term commitment to the work is also an important barometer.
"Six months from now, are we still doing this
work?" Welton said. "Are we still committed to

http://www.edweek.org

Education Week - September 23, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - September 23, 2020