Striving for equity : district leadership for narrowing opportunity and achievement gaps / Robert G. Smith, S. David Brazer.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- 1. Superintendents of the Minority Student Achievement Network -- 2. A framework for equity -- 3. Ensuring organizational capacity, stability, and learning -- 4. Aligning the perspectives of the school board, superintendent, and community -- 5. Building teacher capacity -- 6. Creating opportunities to advance equity -- 7. Mitigating threats to an equity agenda -- 8. Building from lessons learned -- Appendix A. Enrollment and Percentage by Race{Ethnicity of Participating MSAN Districts: 2011-2012 School Year} -- Appendix B. Enrollment and Percentage of English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and Recipients of Subsidized Meals and Per-Pupil Costs of Participating MSAN Districts: 2011-2012 School Year -- Appendix C. Participating Superintendents' Past and Current Positions.

"Based on in-depth interviews, Striving for Equity brings to light the complex and illuminating stories of thirteen longtime superintendents—all leaders of the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN)—who were able to make progress toward narrowing opportunity and achievement gaps in traditional school districts with diverse populations and multiple, competing agendas. Drawing on current research in organizational learning, the authors introduce a framework consistent with the systemic perspective of these superintendents to help school leaders who want to prioritize the narrowing of gaps. Core chapters are devoted to discussing in detail the central strategies of these superintendents, and illustrating how each of these leaders employed them in their particular circumstances. This book reveals the multifaceted, personal nature of this work and factors that proved to be most critical to progress" --Publisher's website.