Leading for Diversity: How School Leaders Promote Positive Interethnic Relations

The authors provide powerful models of leadership that are effective in developing schools where positive interethnic relations can flourish.

Rosemary Henze is an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics and Language Development at San Jose State University. She began her career as a teacher of English as a second language and, after receiving her doctorate, worked for 14 years at Art, Research, and Curriculum Associates in Oakland, California, where she assisted school districts in addressing issues of equity and conducted research and evaluation studies focused on bilingual programs, school change, and race relations. She also worked with Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, and California Indian groups on issues related to language maintenance, ethnic identity, and bilingual education. In all her work, she seeks to apply scholarly knowledge from anthropology and linguistics to address systemic educational problems.

Edmundo Norte teaches for the Leading for Diversity Master of Science Degree program (a collaboration between California State University, Hayward, and Art, Research, and Curriculum Associates in Oakland, California); is an Education Specialist providing technical assistance in curriculum development to charter schools in Oakland; and is an educational consultant on issues of power and perceptions, educational leadership, Latino/a culture, and transfor­mative education. He began his career as a bilingual, elementary-level teacher yet has a wide range of experience working at every level of public education, spanning 20 years. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and has nearly completed his doctoral work there in the department of Human Development and Psychology with a focus on risk and prevention. He acknowl­edges that by far his greatest learning experience and challenge to date has been that of applying his knowledge and experience to the developmentally responsible parenting of his two children―an ongoing labor of love.

Susan E. Sather is a senior program advisor at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in Portland, OR. She leads the Laboratory’s professional learning teams (PLT) work, supervising and conducting PLT training in schools around the nation. She also contributes to research on issues such as high school academic rigor. Sather has 38 years of experience in education, 17 as a teacher working with a dropout prevention program and in special education. Prior to joining NWREL, she was western regional manager and a staff developer for a whole-school reform model, Ventures Education Systems. She has conducted research and evaluation through the School of Education and the School of Social Welfare at the University of California Berkeley, and with ARC associates in Oakland, California. At ARC, she was a member of the Leading for Diversity research team and co-author of Leading for Diversity: How School Leaders Promote Positive Interethnic Relations. She has a PhD in educational administration from the University of California Berkeley.

Ernest W. Walker is the Diversity Programs Coordinator with Alameda County Social Services Agency. He has a wide range of experiences in diversity and conflict management among African American churches. He has served as a facilitator of the film The Color of Fear. He has also worked with churches in conflict, and in strategic planning and team building for nonprofits and government agencies. He is a former consultant with the Alban Institute and is currently a contract mediator with the U.S. Postal Service’s REDRESS worksite mediation program. He is past chair of Conciliation Forums of Oakland, a com­munity mediation organization. He also worked as a researcher for ARC Associates, documenting best practices of public schools that manage diversity. He has a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey and a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, also in New Jersey. He is author of scholarly articles and is also a part-time instructor on African American religions at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California.

Anne Katz, PhD, has worked for 20 years as a researcher and evaluator for projects connected with the education of linguistically and culturally diverse students. She served as the coprincipal investigator for the national study focused on successful leadership in diverse school settings that provided the empirical base for this book. As a teacher educator, she has provided and sup­ported professional development in the United States, Brazil, and Egypt. She was instrumental in developing standards for English as a second language through Teachers of English as a Second or Other Language. And she has assisted many school districts in developing more authentic assessments of student performance. In all her work, she has promoted the forging of links between research and the classroom to support meaningful school change.