Listening, Engaging, Advocating and Partnering (L.E.A.P): A Model for Responsible Community Engagement for Educational Leaders

Abstract

Given the current, contested political climate, growing school-community inequities, and a renewed commitment to equity and justice in the National Education Leadership Preparation standards, aspiring educational leaders need practical approaches to leading school communities toward equitable outcomes. This conceptual article offers a comprehensive and practical approach for responsible community engagement for educational leaders. The authors outline a model that provides key examples of how contemporary educational leaders might begin: listening, engaging, advocating, and partnering with community-based assets to improve the outcomes of historically disenfranchised students. This scholarship concludes with implications for leadership preparation programs and aspiring educational leaders.

(De)Centering Whiteness at Summit High: Reflections of a Racialized Rural United States

“…How might he have advocated for greater student voice to address their concerns (Lac & Mansfield, 2017)? How could Mr. Emmit have sought to more deeply understand the lived experiences of parents of color (Stanley & Gilzene, 2022)? How could he use voices of parents of color to help Summit begin the process of moving away from a "pseudocommunity?"…”

“…Everything he had learned from the equity audit seemed to be a natural fit for him to explore further and begin to address immediately. Based on the initial EdD coursework, specifically the work of Mansfield (2014), Lac and Mansfield (2017), Forman et al (2021), Wright (2022), and Stanley and Gilzene (2022) to use student and community voices to disrupt inequity perpetuated by whiteness, he decided he would invite Summit High students of color to take part in focus groups to learn more about their lived experiences and what could be done to make Summit a more inviting and inclusive community. His EdD program helped make it clear that socially just educational leaders need to include student voices in their practice, specifically how student voice is either privileged or silenced.…”

“…One way to increase the implementation of democratic input is to increase student and community voice in educational leadership decisions. There is a wide variety of literature supporting the inclusion and centering of student voice (Lac & Mansfield, 2017; Mansfield, 2014), and increasingly there is evidence to suggest community engagement and voice improves outcomes for students who come from historically marginalized groups (Stanley & Gilzene, 2022). Educational leaders seeking to increase student voice, particularly students who identify as Black, Brown, or Indigenous, are more able to critique the traditionally privileged norms and ideologies of White, Eurocentric leadership paradigms (Wright, 2022).…”

Taking a LEAP toward community-engaged leadership

“…Engaging challenges educational leaders to intentionally immerse themselves in the contextual realities of their students, families, and communities. This work entails developing inviting school environments premised on equity, cultural responsiveness, and inclusion, as well as initiating and sustaining reciprocal relationships within the community (Stanley & Gilzene, 2022).…”

“…Research suggests school leaders should proactively share ongoing, detailed explanations of school policies and processes before any punitive actions (Stanley & Gilzene, 2022). When parents understand the processes, they will have greater agency when visiting the school space and engaging in these processes.…”