Reimagining Leadership for Equity to Center Student Thriving
For over two decades, the National Equity Project's Leading for Equity (LFE) Institutes have been transformational experiences for educational leaders across the country. When the organization brought the LFE Institute back to the Midwest after a COVID hiatus, they wanted to support leaders with new approaches that met the current times. With political polarization at an all time high nationally, educational resources tightening, and a climate of anti-DEI sentiments, they reimagined some of their traditional content to focus on the essential leadership practices necessary for student thriving.
This resulted in a redesigned Institute that gave attendees practical approaches to continuing their equity leadership development well beyond the event. “We appreciate the listening protocols, discussions and ideas on how to embed equity throughout multiple aspects for our district,” one attendee shared about their most valuable event takeaways. “[We have] actionable strategies to enhance our teams and processes across the District to support systems change for our learners."
From Oppression to Resistance: A Fundamental Shift
The most striking change in NEP's approach was replacing their historical timeline activity—which typically focused on how oppression has shaped educational systems—with a timeline of resistance movements. The institute opened by highlighting historical images across the centuries of activism and organizing, from the Calusa people driving off Spanish colonizers in 1513 to the global Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. The activity showcased how ordinary people in challenging times have always fought for and shaped policies, practices and laws in our country.
"Rather than sitting in the history of the oppression, which can sometimes feel defeating for people," explained Linda Ponce de Leon, NEP Director and one of the institute's facilitators, "we chose to focus on people's individual and collective agency and the history of resistance and activism as a way to remind our attendees that they too can influence change today.”
Strategic Innovation for Student-Centered Leadership
The design changes were also strategic moves aligned with NEP's new strategic aim to center students –and their experiences of schooling– more explicitly in their work. "Leading for equity by centering students brings a different perspective than broadly saying 'I believe in equity and want to fight for what's right,'" notes facilitator Colm Davis, NEP Director of Talent and Organizational Learning. “When we center students, and bring equity in, then we bring more focus to what is needed from our leadership.”
The team introduced new content around learning conditions, belonging, and a set of research-based Essential Leadership Practices. These practices are built upon and are an extension of the National Equity Project’s Leading for Equity Framework, as well as the insights gained from 30+ years of direct experience supporting leaders of all kinds to create the conditions necessary for young people in public school systems to thrive.
"We were super committed to using this LFE as a way to pivot towards our new strategic direction," facilitator Nichelle Nichols, NEP Sr. Consultant, reflected. "We started with asking ‘what do we typically do in a Leading for Equity Institute?’ And then, given where we want to help people head, we had to make some choices."
Previous LFEs, while transformational, sometimes left participants struggling to articulate what they would do differently. The new design intentionally addressed this gap. The over 30 participants—leaders across a variety of roles in education—were already making implementation plans before leaving the institute. "They were really thinking about what they could take back and apply in their district," Nichols noted, describing posters teams created showing how they were seeing their district priorities and what might be next for them.
Leading for Equity in These Times
The positive response has NEP considering how to build on these innovations. "We are continuing to use what we created and what we're learning about these newer pieces by trying them out," Ponce de Leon explained.
The institute also revealed clear demand for specific follow-up programming. Based on participant feedback, NEP is developing a one-day institute on Designing and Facilitating Meetings for Equity—a topic that emerged as particularly resonant during the Institute as many participants named the need to engage in collaboration that would bring more of their colleagues into this work.
As educational leaders navigate an increasingly complex landscape of political attacks on equity work, budget constraints, and competing demands, NEP's evolved approach offers something crucial: a way forward that builds on strength rather than dwelling in deficit, that provides concrete tools rather than just awareness, and that centers the ultimate goal of all equity work—ensuring every student can thrive.
“All of this has helped clarify my equity aspiration,” one participant reflected, “to cultivate a school culture where students and staff, particularly those furthest from opportunity, feel seen, heard, and valued—and to intentionally shift adult mindsets and practices that uphold racial inequities.”
In a time when the path forward can feel unclear, NEP's reimagined Leading for Equity Institute offers educational leaders both inspiration, drawn from centuries of resistance, and practical tools needed to create the conditions where all students can flourish.
To learn more about our approach to student-centered equity leadership, click here to download a free PDF of our Leading for Equity Framework.
