Outlier Leadership in Alabama: Mixed-Methods Study of Principal Practices in High-Performing, Disadvantaged Schools

• In Event: Leading for Equity: Different Places, Different Faces, but the Same Inequities

Abstract

This paper identifies and describes successful practices of principals who lead in some of Alabama’s most resource-disadvantaged environments. In an effort to counteract deficit narratives that often surround leadership in low-resource schools, this study gives attention to innovative approaches school leaders take that break patterns of low student achievement in challenging community contexts. By exploring the thoughtful and transforming strategies of principals that are statistical ‘outliers,’ we find expressions and values of effective, local leadership that leverage community resources in creative ways. We assert that the high-needs school context is an opportunity for educational leaders to leverage strengths, establish approaches that leverage local communities, and support all students in reaching their highest potential.

Authors

• Kimberly Joy Rushing, Auburn University

• Andrew Pendola, Auburn University