SW Washington LEAD Program
Leaders for Equity and Advancing Diversity
First Cohort 
Graduation Celebration 
Cohort Graduation
Program Executive Summary, June 2024
The SW Washington LEAD Program is a partnership between Washington State University Vancouver (WSUV) and Vancouver Public Schools (VPS) that prepares equity-focused future administrators of color to serve Southwest Washington’s growing and diversifying students and communities.
Our why
The LEAD Program builds on continued equity policies and strategic priorities for both VPS and WSU. The program significantly ramps up the recruitment of more educators of color in PK-12 schools. Investing in diversifying leadership pathways promotes equity in schools in three big ways:
Supports greater cultural and racial mirroring of a diversifying student body in local schools: Leaders of color can be positive role models for students of color and support strong connections with communities of color in the region. However, teachers and leaders of color are severely underrepresented in schools across the U.S., state, and region.
Promotes positive, equitable outcomes for students and families in schools: Research has found that leaders of color: (A) Serve as cultural bridges for students of color, Indigenous communities, and immigrant and multilingual families (Buckmiller, 2015; Martinez et al., 2016; Rodela et al., 2019); (B) Combat deficit ideologies and inequities (Bass, 2019; Liou & Liang, 2021; Rodela & Rodriguez-Mojica, 2020; Wilson, 2016); (C) Increase attendance and participation in talented and gifted programs for students of color (Grissom et al., 2021); and (D) Increased family engagement (Jean-Marie et al., 2009; Murakami et al., 2016).
Leaders of color also help create positive outcomes for teachers and staff: Research has found that leaders of color have positive impacts on the recruitment of teachers of color and retention of all teachers (Bartanen and Grissom, 2019; Grissom et al., 2021, p. xv), especially in racially and culturally diverse schools.
Program components
The SW Washington LEAD Program is an equity-focused, culturally sustaining principal preparation program for aspiring leaders of color and consists of six courses and a year-long administrative internship for a total of 24 graduate credits at WSU. Courses include (1) EdAd 516 Instructional and Curricular Leadership, (2) EdAd 589 Leadership Development Seminar, (3) EdAd 509 Leading School Improvement, (4) EdAd 583 Community and Communications, (5) EdAd 585 Financial Management in Education, and (6) EdAd 588 The Law and Education.
Classes are explicitly equity-focused, aligned with national and state standards, and include activities to support the positive leadership development of educators of color. Example activities include cultural autobiographies to reflect on leadership journeys and core values as educators, case studies of leaders of color in action, panels with leaders of color discussing how they engage in equity work, community asset mapping, and community-based equity audits.
The administrative internship is organized in partnership with students’ school districts and involves four leadership tasks (required by the state of Washington): Task 1: Developing a Vision and Improvement Plan; Task 2: Fostering a Culture of Learning; Task 3: Teacher Observation, Analysis, and Feedback; and, Task 4: Family and Community Engagement to Improve Student Learning.
In addition to coursework and the administrative internship, the SW Washington LEAD Program incorporates culturally sustaining leadership development and mentoring opportunities, including:
- Culturally responsive mentors of color who work with students throughout the program (in addition to district principal mentors during the internship)
- Community Wisdom Learning Sessions with panels with youth, families, and community leaders, and
- Leader of Color Networking Sessions at the WSU Vancouver campus and VPS District Office.
These additional enrichment opportunities support students in building their networks, strengthening their community-building and outreach skills, and helping them learn how to incorporate their Community Cultural Wealth and knowledge (Yosso, 2005) as diverse people of color into their leadership. The first cohort ran from January 2023 to May 2024. Fifteen students completed their classes. Fourteen completed their internship during the 2023-2024 academic year, and one is completing their internship in 2024-2025 (a decision made in collaboration with their district supervisors and mentors). The first LEAD cohort who completed in May 2024 included 15 students: 12 from VPS, two from Evergreen Public Schools, and one from ESD 112. They represent a range of educational positions (e.g., classroom teacher, dean of students, counselor, instructional coach), and racial and cultural identities (e.g., Latinx/Hispanic, Arab/Middle Eastern, Black/African American, Asian/Asian American, Pacific Islander, Indigenous/Native American, and Multiracial). We plan to expand the program statewide with a second cohort to begin in Fall 2025, in partnership with additional districts and leadership partners in Washington state.
Grant support
The SW Washington LEAD Program was awarded an Education Equity Grant through College Spark of Washington (over three years). The grant funded $6,000 scholarships for each of the program’s students to help offset tuition costs. It also supports an honorarium for the mentors of color, meeting/event costs (Leader of Color Networking sessions, Community Wisdom panels, Graduation Ceremony), and costs for LEAD Planning Team members to present at local conferences in the future.
Current SW Washington LEAD Planning Team Members
While we work collaboratively with VPS and WSU colleagues and leadership teams, the current planning team
members include:
- Dr. Jeff Snell, Superintendent, Vancouver Public Schools, jeff.snell@vansd.org
- Bill Oman, Executive Director of Schools and Learning, Vancouver Public Schools, bill.oman@vansd.org
- Janell Ephraim, Executive Director of Schools, Learning and Equity, Vancouver Public Schools, janell.ephraim@vansd.org
- Dr. Sharon Kruse, Academic Director and Professor, WSU Vancouver, sharon.kruse@wsu.edu
- Dr. Katherine Rodela, Interim Department Chair and Associate Professor, WSU Vancouver, katherine.rodela@wsu.edu