This book explores Black educational leadership and the development of anti-racist, purpose-driven leadership identities. Recognizing that schools within the United States maintain racial disparities, the authors highlight Black leaders who transform school systems. With a focus on 13 leaders, this volume demonstrates how US schools exclude African American students and the impacts such exclusions have on Black school leaders. It clarifies parallel racism along the pathway to becoming teachers and school leaders, framing an educational pipeline designed to silence and mold educators into perpetrators of educational disparities. This book is designed for district administrators as well as faculty and students in Race and Ethnicity in Education, Urban Education, and Educational Leadership.

This book explores Black educational leadership and the development of anti-racist, purpose-driven leadership identities. Recognizing that schools within the United States maintain racial disparities, the authors highlight Black leaders who transform school systems. With a focus on 13 leaders, this volume demonstrates how US schools exclude African American students and the impacts such exclusions have on Black school leaders. It clarifies parallel racism along the pathway to becoming teachers and school leaders, framing an educational pipeline designed to silence and mold educators into perpetrators of educational disparities. This book is designed for district administrators as well as faculty and students in Race and Ethnicity in Education, Urban Education, and Educational Leadership.

What would happen if Heloise and Abelard, the tragic 12th century French lovers, found their way back to each other today? Who might they be? What might they remember? What might be unresolved within them and between them? How might they choose to "do it differently?" In a contemporary and expansive twist on one of history's most enduring epistles of shattered love, "A Love Apart" tells the story of Lily, a poet, and Julian, a painter who find themselves in "no ordinary love affair."

Lily's been dreaming a young nun whose longing for a beautiful monk has filled her with inconsolable grief. Meanwhile, Julian, who moved to Asheville, NC after the death of his partner Sam, feels compelled to paint crucifixes, cathedral spires, and a monk with the look of terror in his eyes.

Lily and Julian are inevitably drawn to one another. Their ensuing relationship weaves a timeless tapestry that both unravels the mystery of a tragic past and challenges them to understand a present passion filled with impossibility. They have help along the way. From intimate friends, from their art, from the wisdom of Lovina, an eccentric, endearing psychic who uses M&M's to talk to spirits, and from an extraordinary vision that changes everything.

Praise for "A Love Apart"

"Informed by the classic and tragic love affair of Heloise and Abelard, "A Love Apart" presents in lyric language and intelligent characterization, the idea that a profound spiritual love is a force that will not be denied. Using reincarnation, magic realism, and a medium's prescience, the novel explores that most perplexing of ideas: what makes you fall in love with someone? The story of the past love as it pertains to the present is like a literary pentimento-time fades to reveal beneath the surface story the beautiful and tragic one written 800 years before. And in this modern time something fine and carefully crafted is salvaged from love's sorrow." -Gail Adams, author of "The Purchase of Order"

""A Love Apart" is an evocative and lush exploration of the internal and external landscapes of love and desire, in which the historical and contemporary intersect and intertwine in ways both surprising and intriguing." -Janice Eidus, author of "The Celibacy Club"

When, at age fifty-nine, Rachelle Rogers was told in a channeled conversation about a man she didn't know, yet felt she'd been waiting for all her life, it initiated an extraordinary six year inter-dimensional affair of the heart.

The rich tapestry of events, which unfolds through ongoing conversations with angelic beings affectionately called The Dead Guys, weaves through a world of classical music, poetic inspiration, synchronistic interludes, and unexpected landscapes including Paris, Provence, and the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.

In an authentic and lyrical voice, "Rare Atmosphere" recounts a story of passion, vision, and the courage to quest for a grander truth.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"In this rare metaphysical excursion, seasoned writer Rachelle Rogers explores the synergy between inner and outer realms, past and present; a richly poetic journey that reflects the beauty and resilience of the human spirit." -Mindy Lewis, author of "Life Inside: A Memoir"

"In this memoir, the author has a love affair--with a man she's never met. Rogers (A Love Apart, 2005)...receives an unusual message...that she will meet a French man] who "sings the song of her] soul." An] honest portrayal of her struggle to come to terms with her own life... S]he doesn't hesitate to expose her own foibles and mistakes... The chapters on her trips to Saint Martin and France are especially enjoyable, merging memoir with travelogue, and the poems embedded in the text offer a respite... An unusual, touching account of a woman's search for self-acceptance." --"Kirkus Reviews"

"Many more of us have had experience of an altered reality than have had the courage to write about it, and few who have written of their metaphysical journey have done so as honestly and convincingly as Rogers. We travel with her as she learns from spirit guides that love doesn't have to be physical to be passionate and life-altering, that our deepest lessons require surrender of expectations and desires. Roger's prose provides a reliable vehicle on this journey and creates a satisfying read." --Peggy Tabor Millin, author of "Women, Writing, and Soul-Making: Creativity and the Sacred Feminine"

The engaging stories in "POSSOONS" explore, with both quirky humor and poignancy, the ever-evolving landscapes of the heart. Characters from twenty to sixty, male and female, gay and straight, substantial and ethereal navigate relationship, love, and loss.

In "Not About Tahiti," a housewife who yearns to visit the South Seas cultivates a tropical paradise around her husband's recliner. In "Harry Meets The Goddess," a divorced car salesman fantasizes about writing letters to Penthouse, but gets more than he ever dreamed of when a goddess named Lu materializes in the front seat of his Oldsmobile. In "Possoons," a woman tries to make sense of the fact that her perfect lover left because he was too happy. And in "Restoration," a painter who has been unable to touch brush to canvas since the death of his partner finds creative resurrection.

These and the other stories in this collection will evoke a laugh, a tear, and perhaps new possibilities to ponder.

REVIEWS

"Rachelle Roger's bailiwick is the dram of magic that makes life bearable when romance disappoints. She deals in the heavenly intercession, the unaccountable coincidence, the sudden surge of whimsy that sends dependable people off on flights of fancy that bewilder their loved ones. The stories in "Possoons" are wise, funny, and uplifting, and I highly recommend them."
- Susan Hasler, author of Intelligence

"The delicately crafted and often sassy stories in Possoons examine the mystery and magic of the heart, the courage to love, the willingness, if necessary, to fail, and the ultimate triumph of taking the risk."
- Phillip Gardner, author of Someone To Crawl Back To

"Rachelle Rogers has produced a heterogeneous collection of short stories that will entertain and amuse readers. The short quips in "Possoons" are really studies in human nature; from the sixty something Eva to the gay Julian this author brings her characters to life. In a few sentences we see deep into the psyche and the hearts of the people in the story. Whether happy or sad, grieving or rejoicing, the reader becomes part of the story through empathy and understanding. Bravo Ms. Rogers, this collection is highly recommended."
- Shirley A. Roe, Allbooks Review Int.