Identity and Charter School Leadership. Profiles of Leaders of Color: Engaging Families

This is the second in a series of reports to be published by the National Alliance in partnership with Public Impact highlighting the experiences of school leaders of color in charter schools across the country. While the impact school leaders have on student performance has been well documented, there has been little attention to how leaders' experiences and racial identities inform and influence their practice. While many practices of good leadership are universal, an individual's identity shapes how they approach situations and can inspire new and innovative practices. The report includes the profiles of three leaders of color--Maquita Alexander of Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., Freddy Delgado is superintendent/principal at Amigos Por Vida Charter School in Houston, Texas, and Kriste Dragon of Citizens of the World Charter Schools, a network of public charter schools with locations in Los Angeles, California, and Kansas City, Missouri. Each of these leaders shared the belief that their school should engage families as genuine and active partners in their children's education and the report identifies the concrete steps they took to put that belief into practice. [For the first report in this series, see "Identity and Charter School Leadership. Profiles of Leaders of Color: Building an Effective Staff" (ED600846).]