Shifting Self and System
How Educational Leaders Propel Excellence for Achieving Equity
The pathway to equity begins with YOU.
Good intentions are not enough. To dismantle the structural inequities that continue to plague our schools, dedicated leaders must move beyond buzzword rhetoric to a place of action, where concrete steps trace a path to strategic action and sustainable impact.
The authors of this book have made that shift. Drawing from their experiences leading the educational-equity agenda for the nation’s largest school district, they present their model for practical, outcome-oriented antiracist leadership. Features include
- An original framework built on five interdependent pillars: Self Mastery, Adaptive Leadership, Racial Literacy, Emergence, and Whole-Body Healing
- Real-life vignettes providing insights into the pillars and how they work together
- Structured opportunities and tools that support processes at the individual and collective development levels
Disrupting and dismantling inequities is a complex, yet urgent, process. If you’re ready to meet this moral leadership challenge, Shifting Self and System will equip you with the knowledge, disposition, and capacity to create equitable schools and systems for all the students you serve.
"Shifting Self and System: How educational leaders propel excellence to achieve equity will shorten the educator's required journey on becoming an adaptive leader to serve the students with whom they are entrusted. Dr. Ruby and Courtney have the origin stories and experience to prepare our educators through adapted leadership to ensure that all students thrive in a 21st-century where AI, robotics, and automation requires that they are seen and supported as STEM-capable, regardless of their origin stories."
"This book, Shifting Self and System: How educational leaders propel excellence to achieve equity, reminds us that everyone needs healing and all of us can lead system change initiatives from the inside out. The authors guide us into thinking deeply about the personal mirror work that each of us must do to drive systems changes in our education systems. Dr. Ruby and Courtney’s vulnerability and empathy shine through their courageous storytelling and reflections. They present an opportunity for us (agents of change) to see ourselves as authentic human beings who can engage in truth-telling while leaning into the transformation work of system change necessary to better youth no matter their needs. The book offers practical and focused strategies that help to create the change we want to see. We are presented with an invitation to wash our faces, see who we really are, and bring others along with us."