Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity - Supplemental Guide - Starting the Conversation

Oct 15, 2026

Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity—Supplemental Guide: Starting the Conversation provides boards with questions and guidance to strengthen district leadership during crises and social injustice. It emphasizes auditing policies for equity, rejecting “neutral” governance, and treating inequities as persistent problems that must be mitigated or eliminated. The guide focuses on improving communication, supporting inclusive teaching and learning, and building safer environments through equity-driven vision, accountable goals, and stakeholder engagement. It outlines board roles in reopening schools while acting against institutional racism.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

PURPOSE OF SUPPLEMENTAL GUIDE

THE ROLE OF THE BOARD AND A CALL TO IMPROVE AND ENHANCE SUPPORT

PROMOTING EQUITY

SUPPORTING THE CULTURE OF YOUR DISTRICT

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING

FACILITIES, TECHNOLOGY, AND BUDGETING

Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity Supplemental Guide Starting the Conversation Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity Supplemental Guide Starting the Conversation A publication by NSBA’s DIRE (Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education) Initiative and the Center for Safe Schools Reimagining Leadership: Equity Table of Contents PURPOSE OF SUPPLEMENTAL GUIDE ....................................................................................... 1 THE ROLE OF THE BOARDANDA CALL TO IMPROVE AND ENHANCE SUPPORT....................2 PROMOTING EQUITY...................................................................................................................3 SUPPORTING THE CULTURE OF YOUR DISTRICT......................................................................5 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS .................................................................................................8 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING ..................................9 FACILITIES, TECHNOLOGY, AND BUDGETING.......................................................................... 14 iii © 2021 National School Boards Association. All Rights Reserved. Policies, programs, and curriculum must be audited for equity. School boards must understand that with equity, thereis no such thing as neutral policies. They are either exacerbating, perpetuating, mitigating, or eliminating inequities. Reimagining Leadership: Equity Purpose of Supplemental Guide Last year, school leaders were faced with unprecedented challenges as they grappled with school closures, the shift to online and hybrid models of instruction, and supporting their communities with an increased awareness of the need for social justice reform. The COVID-19 pandemic and killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others shined the light on inequities that have existed in our public education system for far too long. In response to these challenges, NSBA issued its guide entitled, Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity. This resource was a collaboration between NSBA’s Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education (DIRE) initiative and Center for Safe Schools and focused on acknowledging and understanding current events and the historical issues of systemic racism in America. This resource established a call for school boards to rise to the current challenges our school systems are facing to transform public education, with a focus on equitable access to world-class education for every student. This Questions for Boards to Ask Supplemental Guide provides additional resources on how school boards can engage in conversations to drive this work forward. 1 © 2021 National School Boards Association. All Rights Reserved. Reimagining Leadership: Equity THE ROLE OF THE BOARDANDA CALL TO IMPROVE AND ENHANCE SUPPORT As many school districts engage in the process of responding to the pandemic and addressing issues of social injustice, questions arise about how this will be accomplished and what it will look like. While the superintendent will typically keep the board informed, the myriad details to address these issues will be made by the administration. What, then, is the board’s role in reopening schools and addressing institutional racism? School boards set visions and policy. Under today’s rules of governance and best practices, the school board must take seriously its role to create a district culture that strives for excellence, acknowledgesand addresses inequities, views mistakes as learning opportunities, and sees its work as one of constant improvement—looking ahead rather than behind. This is the time to partner with the professional educators to do everything we can to safeguard student learning. Every question should be asked in the tone and spirit of fiduciaries who are deeply committed to the mission, with a fail-forward mentali

FAQs

What is the main purpose of this supplemental guide for school boards?

It provides additional questions and resources to help school boards engage in conversations and take action to advance equity in public education.

How should school boards understand their role in addressing institutional racism?

They set visions and policies, build district culture that acknowledges and addresses inequities, and guide change by asking the right questions and listening to stakeholders.

Why does the guide stress using data and identifying root causes?

Board decisions should be informed by data such as achievement and chronic absenteeism, with confidence that metrics help reveal inequities and the root causes behind them.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Riley West