Practical information for school leaders on how to close the achievement gap is in short supply. This book contains practical tools and strategies that make intuitive sense to educators and are easy to apply in reducing inequities in schools. The authors offer a manageable set of indicators to highlight inequities and that can be used in flexible ways for approaching the unique circumstances of any school. Full of charts, graphs, tools, and support materials, readers will move from an understanding of why equity audits are imperative to an understanding of how to do them and how to narrow the teacher quality, programmatic, and achievement gaps in their schools.

This is the follow-up book to the Corwin "best seller" Using Equity Audits to Create Equitable and Excellent Schools. Whereas Using Equity Audits was written mainly for school leaders, this book, Equity Audits for Teachers: Creating Equitable and Excellent Classrooms, focuses on teacher and classroom practices. Although school leaders have found the Equity Audits book useful, they have requested more strategies for teachers. They want a companion book they can give teachers and use in teacher study groups. This book is important because in this time of changing demographics and increased diversity, many teachers find that the strategies they have used in the past are successful with only some of the students in their classes. They want and need strategies that will assist them in being successful with all their students. This book will provide teachers with new strategies and skills that will fit diverse needs. The book will also include a discussion of the history of equity auditing in education found in civil rights work, curriculum auditing, and state accountability systems.

Foreword by Carl D. Glickman

"It brings into focus the many aspects of equity and equality in one source. It makes an excellent base for some meaningful discussion of these issues by those working with aspiring educator leaders, as well as those already in the field."
Deborah A. Drugan, Principal
General John J. Stefanik Elementary School, Chicopee, MA

Do you dream of success for every student? Do you dream of raising achievement for each and every child to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act? Historically, underserved students?children of color, children from low-income families, English language learners?all deserve to live this dream. Creating an equitable learning environment in which all students thrive is possible?with this guide you can turn dreams into reality for your school.

Leadership for Equity and Excellence encourages school leaders and teachers to develop creative strategies for student advancement using tools such as accountability, equity audits, and proactive redundancy. Scheurich and Skrla demonstrate how deeply held beliefs manifest as biases, preventing educators from unlocking their students? potential. The authors also examine the U.S. education achievement gap, and suggest several concepts for overcoming this gap, such as:

• Eliminating "can?t" from your vocabulary
• Using creativity, perseverance, and persistence
• Envisioning educators as civil rights workers
• Moving beyond harmful, but entrenched, biases
• Understanding the cultures and backgrounds of each student

Children of color excelling in school . . . children from low-income homes thriving academically . . . classrooms, communities, and even a nation of people becoming truly equal?this is the living dream of today?s educators.