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In an urban elementary school serving predominantly White and Latinx students, the second-grade teachers created an assignment that asked students to share how their families migrated to the United States. The mother of a Black student met with the teacher to discuss her discomfort with the assignment given that their family descended from enslaved Africans, not immigrants. The teacher was sympathetic but did not understand the issue and refused to omit the assignment. Unsatisfied, the mother requested a meeting with the principal to discuss the racist implications of this assignment and the potential trauma her son would experience.

The rallying, clarion call to #SayHerName has prompted the United States to intentionally include the lives, voices, struggles, and contributions of Black women and countless others of her ilk who have suffered and strived in the midst of anti-Black racism. To advance a leadership framework that is rooted in the historicity of brilliance embodied in Black women's educational leadership, and their proclivity for resisting oppression, we expand on intersectional leadership. We develop this expansion along three dimensions of research centering Black women's leadership: the historical foundation of Black women's leadership in schools and communities, the epistemological basis of Black women's racialized and gendered experiences, and the ontological characterization of Black women's expertise in resisting anti-Black racism in educational settings. We conclude with a four tenet articulation detailing how intersectional leadership: (a) is explicitly anti-racist; (b) is explicitly anti-sexist; (c) explicitly acknowledges the multiplicative influences of marginalization centering race and gender, and across planes of identity; and (d) explicitly leverages authority to serve and protect historically underserved communities.

This article is based on a STEM education case study that illumines the work that three Black women school leaders do specifically on behalf of Black girls, and in examining their asset-based approaches, conceptualises their work by articulating an intersectional leadership framework. By historicising and explicating the rich legacy of Black women school leaders, and specifically including the theoretical dispositions in which their pedagogy is rooted, we shine a light on the lacuna that exists in educational leadership that specifically articulates their praxes when working on behalf of students with whom they identify -- that is, Black girls. Black women have modelled what Black girls need because they empathise with their intersectional identities in unique ways. Based on their effective practices, we offer the following definition of intersectional leadership: the operationalisation of visionary strategies that privilege the experiences of followers who live the realities of more than one historically oppressive identifier.

A case study using appreciate inquiry identified and described the experiences of five educational administration doctoral students representing three universities regarding their doctoral program studies and dissertation process. Data were collected using reflective narratives and the Left Hand Right Hand Column Case Method. Data revealed (a) the student's perception of the level of caring in the doctoral program by program faculty influenced their perception of program quality; and (b) the caring relationship between the faculty and student extended to the student's work context. We concluded that doctoral students benefit from a culture of caring and link caring to high quality programs.

Little is known about Asian American women administrators in the public schools. The study sought to understand the pathways of Asian American women to school leadership. In-depth interviews and researcher reflective memos were the primary data sources. The participants included 15 Asian American female school administrators in two states. We found that the women's career trajectories were similar yet unique; they were manifestation of the women's intersected experiences of gender, race-ethnicity, and age, situated in particular time and place. Often than not, the women had to negotiate their leadership aspiration and advancement through raced and gendered expectations. Others' encouragement and mentoring were instrumental for the women's development of self-knowledge and demystification of the leadership process. Most women taught at least 10-15 years before entering leadership. The women of earlier generations had far less career mobility and slim, if not absent, mentoring opportunities.

As schools become more racially, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse, there are increasing calls for educational leaders to be more representative of student demographics and be explicitly prepared to advance equity through culturally responsive/relevant leadership practices. We discuss how applying an equity lens to three key content areas taught in leadership preparation programs (building relationships, culturally diverse practices, and practical opportunities for learning) can lead to both improved student outcomes and educator retention, particularly for teachers of color. We close with questions for school districts and leadership programs—and for aspiring principals and superintendents—to consider in bringing to life equity-oriented educational leadership practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The context of education is changing based upon social, political, and accountability factors. As a result, many large urban districts have turned to small school reform in efforts to address student learning outcomes. Research demonstrates that effective leadership influences school achievement and culture. This qualitative study examines the leadership of two African-American female principals charged with implementing small school reform in an urban district. Each principal experienced challenges related to race, gender, and age, as well as challenges in harnessing district support to implement the reform with integrity. The tenets of Afrocentric feminist epistemology are used to explicate the experiences of these Black female principals. (Contains 1 note.)

Leader succession is often the result of a broken system, resulting in the loss of leadership gains from the exiting leader and leaving the incoming leader without proper support for success. This system needs replacing, with a system of dynamic succession planning that is carefully planned and an integral part of a school's improvement plan. To examine and understand these challenges in successful succession planning, I undertook a qualitative instrumental case study of a founding high school principal and her successor in an urban district engaged in small school reform. The findings suggest that these leaders' lack of sustainability was influenced by a lack of district support and mentoring. These supports (or their lack thereof) affected the school's and district's effectiveness in transitioning the successor, planning for new leadership, and anticipating the supports needed for the school and its leaders. (Contains 2 notes and 1 figure.)

A large, urban public school district has been engaged in high school reform over several years. The reform involves creating small learning communities (SLC) from large underperforming neighborhood high schools. In many cases, brand new principals have been chosen to found and lead the SLC schools into reform. The district has had some difficulty with providing support to principals in these roles. This case is designed to highlight issues of providing support and mentoring in a structured way to individuals new to the principalship. The case can be used in courses on the principalship as well as courses that prepare central office leaders. A list of additional readings is included.

An in-depth, 2-year instrumental case study considered the degree to which ongoing reflection, within the context of mentoring relationships and administrative portfolio writing, supported the development of administrative leadership practice within an Administrative Leadership Academy: Entry Year Program. By observing the ways in which entry-year principals applied academy-supported knowledge, dispositions, and performances within the school setting, researchers sought to determine the impact of ongoing Leadership Academy experiences on leadership practice. Findings suggest that guided reflection through mentoring and reflective writing presented an effective means to improve leader learning and practice within the current context of state and federal accountability systems and standards-based education. (Contains 5 footnotes.)