Develop the skills and historical understanding to lead courageous conversations about race, power, and equity in your school community.
“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” ― Maya Angelou
Overview
Leading inclusive schools, where all students are afforded opportunities to achieve, requires an understanding of the intersections of race, power, and privilege and calls for leaders who have the courage and capacity to engage in thoughtful conversation and action in their school communities.
Race, Equity, and Leadership in Schools, a program of The Principals’ Center, offers a historical and cultural context for understanding how inequality plays out in schools and provides educators with the skills and confidence to lead more excellent, equitable schools. Participants will learn to recognize structures that perpetuate inequality, address assumptions about how people learn, and create opportunities for more children to succeed.
Program Details
In this four-day institute, you will gather with educators from across the country to explore the role of racism in creating and sustaining educational inequity. You will investigate the importance of personal and group accountability in addressing inequity, and practices for increasing community engagement and promoting open dialogue. You will return home ready to implement concrete strategies for building a more inclusive school community where all children can achieve at high levels.
Objectives
- Investigate the many causes of individual, institutional, and systemic racial inequality
- Deepen your understanding of why discussions of race, equity, and leadership matter
- Explore the variety of changes needed to create a more inclusive future
- Identify concrete strategies for building inclusive institutions and build your toolkit to teach, model, and practice inclusion

Dr. Kathleen E. O'Connor, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Kankakee School District 111
Race, Equity, and Leadership in Schools 2017 participant
Judi Seldin, Assistant Head of School, Carroll School
Race, Equity, and Leadership in Schools 2017 participant
Who Should Attend
- K-12 educators interested in deepening their understanding of the intersections of race, power, and privilege in our society and schools
- School-level teams composed of principals, assistant principals, and educators in other leadership roles
- Teams composed of school and district leaders
- State-level school administrators

Faculty Director, School Leadership
Mary Grassa O’Neill is faculty co-chair of Race, Equity, and Leadership in Schools and the Certificate in School Management and Leadership.

Deborah Jewell-Sherman is the faculty chair of Women in Education Leadership, National Institute for Urban School Leaders, Harvard Institute for Superintendents and District Leaders, and Leading for Excellence and Equity: A CAEL Module and faculty co-chair of Race, Equity, and Leadership in Schools.
Fees & Policies
Tution: $2,775 per person
Participants of the Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML): $2,375 per person
The comprehensive tuition includes all instructional materials and refreshments. Participants receive a certificate of participation and a letter confirming clock hours of instruction. Payment or a purchase order must be received within 30 days of program acceptance, or upon receipt of the invoice if acceptance is within 30 days prior to the start of the program. Click here for more information on payment and tuition assistance.
Please click here for more information on our on-campus and online refund and withdrawal policies.
The Harvard Graduate School of Education reserves the right to change faculty or cancel programs at its discretion. In the unlikely event of program changes, the school is not responsible for non-refundable travel arrangements or other planning expenses incurred.