Culturally Responsive Administration

I was sitting in my office just yesterday when I got a phone call that required me to have a fairly difficult interaction with a young scholar. One small incident then (unintentionally) blew up into a big incident and required a much different response from me as the administrator. Over the past few weeks I have been thinking seriously about how I am interacting with scholars in my office, and the consequences I may be giving on scholars. As I work to make more scholar-informed decisions I called for one of my other administrators to come up, inform her of the situation, and bounce off ideas as for a possible response to the scholars's actions. It was during that wait time for the other administrator that I had one of the most profound conversations I have ever had with one of our scholarss. Here's the recap, in a sentence. 

"I just want someone to care about me enough to put a roof over my head and food in my stomach. No student should ever have read to worry about that stuff."

In a matter of 10 minutes I had learned more than I could have ever imagined about that young man and the lived experiences that play a role in how he shows up to school. Everything from the neighborhood he lives in, the places he's lived before, the family structure at home, and most importantly some of the aspirations he has for his future. I was able to use this new knowledge to make the most informed decision as his administrator, and one that I believe was fair and just. 

After the student left my office I was reminded of the training I offered to staff at the beginning of the school year about culturally responsive teaching (CRT). I spent time sharing my story, asking the teachers to think about their own stories, and pushing them to allow their story and the many stories of our scholars to blend together in class to make a vibrant and exciting classroom. 

... But was I doing this as an administrator? Was I taking the time to get to know the scholars who frequent my office to build relationships, and use those relationships to better inform the interactions I had with those scholars? In my practice, was I focusing first on the scholar and then addressing the reason they were in my office? Or did I do that in the reverse order? 

If I am to be a true leader and push my staff to follow, then I better make sure that my example is solid. When I stood in front of the teachers at the beginning of the school year to stress the importance of implementing CRT, then as a leader I must also implement CRT in my office.

Relationships aren't enough though. I want to take the time to invest in our students, show up both at school and outside of school, and take an active role in my students lives and in their community. And in turn it is vitally important that I use that investment to impact the work I do on a daily basis. My challenge for the remainder of the year is to lead by example when it comes to showing up as a culturally responsive administrator.