Ms. Sampson, a White eighth-grade teacher in a predominately White suburban school district in the southern United States, decided to include several books in her lesson plan. Selected books were from the school's library and had been previously approved by stakeholders as instructional resources for the district. One parent, a school board…

This case was written for practitioners and researchers to help educators engage in the important work of providing culturally responsive instructional supervision within the U.S. education system. Through the intersection of culturally responsive teaching and culturally responsive school leadership, formative feedback about instruction can focus…

In this case, readers will learn how the University of New Mexico educational leadership program intentionally created a doctoral cohort that is Indigenous based and focused that included Indigenous and tribal community narrative and feedback in its development. The NALE doctoral cohort program included these same communities as sites for…

Effective principals provide teachers with feedback on the edges of their growth moving beyond compliance-driven teacher evaluations to meaningful cycles of observation and feedback. This case focuses on preparing principal candidates to address equity issues related to teacher practices that positively impact student achievement with a veteran…

With discourse on immigration policies being brought to the forefront in U.S. education, educational leaders need to be more conscious than ever of changing demographics, diversity, and the multilingual and multicultural value of their students and community. This case study focuses on how educational leaders engage with Latino/a parents and how…

This case introduces the current educational leadership context found in the executive branch of the Osage Nation, which is experiencing an era of rapid growth in the wake of a constitutional reform effort in 2004 to 2006. Utilizing a specific narrative that puts an Osage educational leader in charge of developing a 10-year plan that will guide…

Inspired by true events, this case presents how the Northwestern Elementary leadership team confronts the challenges of deficit thinking on their campus. An action research study uncovers a glaring lack of cultural responsiveness in practice, concerning Black and Hispanic students. Motivated by these findings, Anne, a White principal and Myra, a…

This case illustrates why school leaders must be culturally proficient to serve all students and lead effectively. I discuss one case in Ohio that is representative of many other American schools. In particular, I examine the cultural challenges educational leaders must commonly face. This case encourages administrators to participate in…

Ms. Mendez, English Department chair in a large urban high school, has noticed a persistent pattern in the practices of her colleagues. These practices tend to be racially insensitive and emphasize a noncritical view that does not attend to students' experiences and positions students from a deficit perspective. Realizing that such practices serve…

This case highlights a high school that struggles with inequities perpetuated by a noninclusive environment. To help confront these issues, the school will hire an assistant principal of diversity. Readers are presented with a dilemma concerning the legality of hiring based on race and research that supports the benefits of racial congruency…

Courtney and Dennis, two African American male students at McDowell High, were arrested at school for throwing water balloons during senior prank week. The principal assigned two police officers to the magnet school to oversee the implementation of a new discipline protocol. However, several members of the school staff were ill-informed about the…

Immersed in host countries around the globe, American international schools serve about a quarter of a million Americans. These schools can often be perceived as representatives of U.S. schools in the international setting. This study has a twofold purpose: to introduce students to the philosophy, policies, and practices of American schools…