Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders

Our students' futures depend upon it: If we're to guarantee equitable access and improved academic outcomes for our historically underserved students, then we must first confront the deeply rooted biases and practices that for far too long have limited them. That's where Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders has already benefited tens of thousands of schools leaders--and the students, teachers, and communities they serve.

Cultural Proficiency helps us all establish a mindset and worldview for effectively describing and responding to inequities. Its inside-outside approach to leadership is grounded in the assumption that honest introspection is a requirement to leading equity-driven change. And now, with updated content, new case studies, expanded vignettes, new activities and study guides, and an updated matrix, this fourth edition is more urgently needed than ever.

What leaders love most is the way Cultural Proficiency lays the groundwork for powerful organizational growth with resources to:

• Engage colleagues in collaborative dialogue about creating powerful teaching and learning environments
• Recognize and respond to both individual and group differences to break down barriers
• Use the Cultural Proficiency Continuum to assess the limitations of school practices and identify opportunities to shift the culture

Take this first step on the Cultural Proficiency journey and soon enough you, too, can create equitable educational opportunities and more inclusive environments in which differences are embraced.

"This book is a riveting and unparalleled resource for all educational merchants of hope. . . . The insights, learning strategies, and professional development structures in this edition illuminate a path for all leaders to successfully commit to the journey of being equity champions!"
--Dr. Erick E. Witherspoon, National Director of Equity Professional Development Services
Generation Ready

"There is no greater honor than to have one's professional work become the inspiration for a new way of thinking, and transformative literature and action that change the world for schools and the children and youth they serve. I am grateful that the ideas have been so skillfully brought to scale by these authors."
--Dr. Terry L. Cross, MSW, Founder and Senior Advisor
National Indian Child Welfare Association

Author: Randall B. Lindsey,Kikanza Nuri-Robins,Raymond D. Terrell
Publisher: Corwin Publishers
Published: 09/10/2018
Pages: 360
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.50lbs
Size: 9.80h x 7.00w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781506390543

About the Author
Randall B. Lindsey is emeritus professor at California State University, Los Angeles and has a practice centered on educational consulting and issues related to equity and access. Prior to higher education faculty roles, he served as a junior and senior high school history teacher, a district office administrator for school desegregation, and executive director of a non-profit corporation. All of his experiences have been in working with diverse populations and his area of study is the behavior of white people in multicultural settings. It is his belief and experience that too often white people are observers of multicultural issues rather than personally involved with them. He works with colleagues to design and implement programs for and with schools, law enforcement agencies, and community-based organizations to provide access and achievement. He and his wife and frequent co-author, Delores, are enjoying this phase of life as grandparents, as educators, and in support of just causes that extend the promises of democracy throughout society in authentic ways. Kikanza Nuri-Robins helps people to close the gap between what they say they are and what they actually do. Whether she is in a corporate boardroom, the fireside room of a retreat center, or a convention center auditorium, Kikanza uses her skills and insights to help people and organizations that are in transition - or ought to be. She shares her observations and recommendations with clarity and candor, while gently encouraging them to face the difficult situations that challenge their skill sets and their values. She leads people to this growing edge with unswerving focus, an understanding heart, and laughter that rises from the seat of her soul. Since 1978, Kikanza has worked as an organizational development consultant in a variety of settings includ-ing education, health care, criminal justice, and religion, focusing on leadership development, change management, and cultural proficiency. Her clients range from school districts, to university faculty, to government offices and non-profit organizations. The connecting thread is her passion for working with people who want to making a difference for others. Kikanza studied at Occidental College, the University of Southern California, and the San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is the author of many articles and five books, including: Cultural Proficiency and Culturally Proficient Responses to the LGBT Communities. Kikanza lives in Los Angeles where she spends her discretionary time as a textile artist. Raymond D. Terrell, EdD, served as special assistant to the dean for diversity initiatives in the School of Education and Allied Professions at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. A former secondary English teacher, elementary school principal, professor of educational administration, and dean of the School of Education at California State University, Los Angeles, he has more than 40 years of professional experience with diversity and equity issues.