School leaders really matter. School leaders play a fundamental role in recruiting and supporting strong educators, driving rigorous instruction,…
December 19, 2022 by EdTrust 
School leaders really matter. School leaders play a fundamental role in recruiting and supporting strong educators, driving rigorous instruction, creating school cultures that are inclusive and inviting, and working toward positive academic outcomes.
School leaders of color, in particular, provide strong instructional leadership while creating an equity-oriented school environment and attracting and retaining more teachers of color, from which all students benefit — especially students of color. Importantly, when school leaders of color lead students of color, these positive effects are magnified.
Students and teachers deserve to have access to strong school leaders from diverse backgrounds. Even more so, school leaders of color play an important role in the path to COVID-19 recovery. Over the last three years, students of color have disproportionately borne the brunt of the pandemic — experiencing loss of family members, economic hardship, mental health challenges, and significant unfinished learning. Strong school leaders of color can create positive school environments that focus on learning acceleration while building solid relationships between teachers and students.
In this brief we provide state and district leaders with an overview of five things they should do to foster opportunities to cultivate strong and diverse school leaders of color.
Recommendations
