Leading Change Through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency: An Equitable Approach to Race and Social Class in Our Schools

The pathway to uncovering and dismantling inequities

Educational leaders that work in the district, site, or classroom level know that opportunity gaps have long been a focus of education policy in the United States. Leadership can be a critical lever for advancing policies that oppose racism and confront systemic inequities. In meeting this challenge, educators have found that acknowledging beliefs and behaviors is critical. Still, deficit-based thinking, especially due to privilege, remains a barrier to equity. Among the most damaging blind spots is the continuation of practices that are grounded in the values of entitled groups.

Leading Change through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency tells the story of a school community in the Midwest United States that contended with its approach to teaching and valuing students of diverse backgrounds. Featuring the research-based Cultural Proficiency Framework and Tools, the book provides a clear roadmap to advancing equity across schools and districts. Designed to support leaders, and school communities, in developing policies and practices that respond to the needs of all students, this book

• Guides school leaders in a journey of learning the theory and strategies that improved student achievement and improved the working conditions in this district
• Features a real-life case study of a school community using the Tools of Cultural Proficiency and the Framework
• Provides vignettes and data, based on work conducted across an actual school district, that resulted in improvements in school climate, achievement, mindset, and equitable educational practices
• Includes powerful reflection, dialogic, and action activities for use in a variety of community learning modalities
• Is grounded in assets-based assumptions with respect to students, families, and the school community.

With a focus on engagement, leadership, implementation frameworks, and collaborative learning, the authors demonstrate how to uncover and remedy inequities. Designed for education leaders at all levels of the education system, this is the ideal foundational text for implementing Cultural Proficiency in your setting as you open doors for all students to thrive.

Dr. Jaime E. Welborn, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at Saint Louis University, where she also serves as Assessment & Accreditation Coordinator and Educator Certification Officer. She earned a B.S. in Elementary Education and an M.S. in Educational Administration from Southern Illinois University, followed by a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Saint Louis University.

With more than two decades of experience in public education, including classroom teaching at the elementary and middle school levels, school administration, and graduate-level instruction, Dr. Welborn’s scholarly and professional work focuses on Cultural Proficiency, collaborative leadership, teamwork, equity in student outcomes, organizational change, strategic planning, and program evaluation.

From 2016 to 2019, she served as Program Director for the largest grant in the history of Saint Louis University’s School of Education, awarded by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, to support the implementation of the country’s national educational and training policies. She has also applied culturally responsive leadership and educational practices internationally with Brace for Impact in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. Additionally, Dr. Welborn serves as Senior Associate for the Center for Culturally Proficient Educational Practice, providing leadership and consultation to advance equity-focused educational initiatives.

In 2018, she founded JWE Education Consulting, LLC, which operates under The Jaime Welborn Group, Concinnity Solutions, and Midwest Collaborative, providing professional learning and leadership-focused consulting to school districts and mission-driven organizations nationwide.

Her scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed journal articles, national conference presentations, and the 2022 book, Leading Change through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency: An Equitable Approach to Race and Social Class in Our Schools. Her recent research explores culturally proficient educational practices in public schools across the United States, the influence of Jesuit educational values on inclusive leadership preparation, and the advancement of culturally responsive organizational change.

Dr. Welborn’s work has been recognized with Saint Louis University’s Faculty Excellence for Leadership and Service Award (2023) and the Outstanding Scholarship Award from the School of Education (2024). She resides in Saint Louis, Missouri, with her husband and two daughters.

Tamika Casey currently serves as a site administrator in the San Bernardino City Unified School District and co-pastor of New Life Christian Church of Fontana. She has served in many capacities in education, including mainstream classroom teacher as well as a SANKOFA Culturally Responsive Demonstration Teacher, teaching coach, program specialist for the Department of Equity and Targeted Student Achievement, elementary principal, and instructor in the school leadership program, in the college of education for California State University, San Bernardino. She has served as conference speaker and session facilitator. Tamika is the founder and lead consultant for Casey Education Solutions. Her leadership is focused on developing and building the capacity for individuals and organizations to align stated values and principles with more equitable and culturally proficient practices. Tamika’s faith and passion for developing relationships drives her to her ultimate aim to effect change in communities and the lives of scholars.

Email-tamikacasey@caseyedsolutions.com

Keith Myatt, Ed.D., was a full-time instructor in the School Leadership Programs at California State University, Dominguez Hills where developing school leaders dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression and focusing on Cultural Proficiency were at the heart of the program.  Prior to that he was at the Los Angeles County office of Education in Educational Leadership Services as a director in the California School leadership Academy (CSLA).  He is coauthor of Culturally Proficient Education: An Asset-Based Response to the Conditions of Poverty (Corwin, 2010) and Culturally Proficient Coaching, Supporting Educators to Create Equitable Schools, (Corwin, 2020). He has worked at the Museum of Tolerance providing seminars for educators wishing to establish Cultural Proficiency as an element of their work and provided seminars for educators supporting credential candidates with the tools of Cultural Proficiency and Coaching.  He has recently been working to implement the California Administrator Performance Assessment and is currently helping to develop an Ed.D. program at Dominguez Hills dedicated to creating school systems focused on the success of each and every child.  

Randall B. Lindsey is Emeritus Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. He has served as a teacher, an administrator, executive director of a non-profit corporation, as Interim Dean at California Lutheran University, as Distinguished Educator in Residence at Pepperdine University, and as Chair of the Education Department at the University of Redlands. All of Randy’s experiences have been in working with diverse populations and his area of study is the behavior of white people in multicultural settings. His Ph.D. is in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University, his Master of Arts in Teaching is in History Education from the University of Illinois, and his B.S. in Social Science Education is from Western Illinois University. He has served as a junior high school and high school teacher and as an administrator in charge of school desegregation efforts. At Cal State, L.A. he served as Chair of the Division of Administration and Counseling and as Director of the Regional Assistance Centers for Educational Equity, a regional race desegregation assistance center. With co-authors he has written several books and articles on applying the Cultural Proficiency Framework in various contexts.

Email – randallblindsey@gmail.com
Website - CCPEP.org
Twitter - @RBLindsey41