Faculty member Elizabeth Stosich, Ed.D., and panelists from Community School District 11 spoke on “Principal Equity Teams Collaborate to Address Problems of Practice and Advance Equity and Excellence.”
Fordham University’s Division of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy (ELAP) Online Spring Speaker Series concluded in April with a presentation of research from faculty member Elizabeth Leisy Stosich, Ed.D.
Stosich presented her research on the impact of efforts by Community School District 11 to involve principals in addressing critical equity issues. Panelists from Community School District 11 in the Bronx included superintendent Cristine Vaughan and district achievement and instructional specialist Celeste Coleman. Coleman is also a doctoral student in Fordham’s ELAP program.
Stosich, Vaughan, and Coleman described the critical equity issues the district and school leaders targeted, which included strengthening culturally responsive-sustaining education (CR-SE), strengthening social emotional learning (SEL), and reducing chronic absenteeism. Other goals emerged within these categories, including improving English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics performance and reducing suspensions.
Vaughan and Coleman led and participated in teams of principals designed to address these issues across the district. Ultimately, Vaughan and Coleman felt it highly important to “build the skill, will, and knowledge to affirm and advance racial equity.”
Stosich’s research focuses on collaborative approaches to leading continuous improvement in schools and districts. Her co-authored book titled The Internal Coherence Framework: Creating the Conditions for Continuous Improvement in Schools, describes research-based approaches that school and district administrators can use to lead instructional improvement.
This was the third and final session of the ELAP Online Spring Speaker Series. Highlights from the first session, featuring assistant professor Phillip A. Smith, Ph.D., can be found here. A summary of the second session, featuring assistant professor Tiedan Huang, Ed.D., and GSE graduates Laura Dubak, Ed.D., and Kenneth Kroog, Ed.D., can be found here.
Please find additional details on Fordham’s program’s in Educational Leadership here.
