"Support for educators in an era of extreme polarization all over the world, especially when it comes to ensuring every child receives the education they need and deserve. Educators are facing an unprecedented level of resistance to inclusion initiativesand pedagogical innovations around the world, particularly where equity is the goal. Whether the reasons are political, religious, cultural or otherwise, education is under significant threat. Regional laws in states like Florida are eroding not just what can be taught in schools, but how educators are allowed to respond to the needs of LGBTQ+ students and students of color. And it's not just Florida-the backlash against student-centered education and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging work is appearing across the world. In the face of these vast challenges, educator and consultant Jennifer D. Klein set out to document the work of incredible leaders in schools all over the world who refuse to give in to mounting pressure to cease equity-centered initiatives and improvements. This book is informed by real conversations and real stories from courageous leaders around the globe. Organized by strategy, Klein presents a handbook of that leaders can dig into from any starting point, depending on the challenges they're facing and the approaches they want to consider. The goal is to support leaders putting out fires, who need immediate short-term solutions, and to equip leaders planning for deeper change and long-term work"-- Provided by publisher.
Learner-centered leadership grounded in courage, integrity, and love for every child
The pressures of today’s political and cultural climate have created unprecedented roadblocks for school leaders striving to ensure success for all students. With mounting challenges from communities, conservative legislation, and misconceptions about student-centered instruction and inclusion efforts, leaders often feel isolated and threatened in their efforts to prioritize what learners need most.
Drawing on interviews with 67 education leaders around the world, Taming the Turbulence in Educational Leadership is a practical handbook, offering strategies to drive equity-focused and student-centered transformation, even in the face of opposition. Additional features include
- Approaches to foster trust and build relationships across the campus and community to overcome resistance
- Strategies to leverage data; include learner, teacher, and parent voices; and use intentional communication for effective decision-making
- Tools for preparing teachers, adapting systems, and protecting staff as they implement equity-centered initiatives
- Protocols, reflective questions, and worksheets to help schools determine readiness and create actionable plans
Rooted in real-world stories, this book offers solidarity and actionable strategies to education leaders committed to centering the needs of all learners in increasingly polarized societies.
Arvustused
"Jennifer D. Kleins Taming the Turbulence in Educational Leadership is a bold and timely guide for school leaders navigating the complexities of equity, innovation, and resistance. Grounded in real stories and deep empathy, this book offers both practical strategies and moral clarity for those striving to do right by learners in polarized times. It is an essential companion for anyone committed to leading with courage, compassion, and vision." -- Yong Zhao "In a time when public education is being weaponized by authoritarian forces, Jennifer D. Klein offers a bold, humane roadmap for principled survival and resistance. Taming the Turbulence is not just a toolkit for surviving political backlash - its a call to lead with courage, integrity, and deep love for our children. This is essential reading for every educator committed to democracy, the vision of thriving public schools, and the rightful inclusion of every child." -- Jason Glass "Jennifer D. Klein has gifted the field of education a masterworkone that reads like a loving letter to every leader who dares to do right by learners in a world increasingly resistant to progress. Taming the Turbulence is both balm and blueprint: it names the storms, honors the fragility of our roles, and charts a path through resistance with clarity, compassion, and courage. Klein speaks directly and unabashedly to the realities of leadership today, centering students with intention and love while honoring the complexity of navigating political, cultural, and institutional pushback.What enchants most is how the book wraps practical, immediately usable strategies inside a heart-filled conversationanchored in dignity, rightful presence, and the global movement for meaningful, humanizing education. Klein introduces a common vocabulary, powerful metaphors, and viscerally real stories that create space for nuanced understanding and courageous action. Whether youre a school leader, coach, or advocate, this book offers not just tools, but solidarity. Youll leave feeling seen, resourced, and called to lead with both humility and hope." -- Charity Marcella Moran, Ed.S. "In Taming the Turbulence in Educational Leadership, Klein shows us a path out of the binary thinking that leads educational leaders down a dangerous path in which false dichotomies dominate our conversations about how to serve all students well. Instead, she offers a new vision for vigorous learning that demonstrates how fun, inclusion, and growth can be deeply connected, not mutually exclusive." -- Zaretta Hammond
Foreword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chapter One: Why this, Why Now: An Introduction
Chapter Two: What Schools Are Getting Right, and Why Theyre Meeting
Resistance
Pedagogical and Instructional Innovations That Prioritize
Student-Centered Learning
Innovation in How Schools Define Success
Try This: Unpacking Purpose, Opportunity, and Equity
Innovation and Opportunity for All Learners
The Case of Career Technical Education
The Case of Cognitively and Physically Responsive Education
Innovation Outside the System
Innovation in Academically Driven Schools
Sustained Pedagogical Innovation
Identity-Responsive Learning and Teaching
Culturally Responsive Learning and Teaching in Communities of Color
Culturally Responsive Learning and Teaching in Indigenous Communities
Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness in Schools
Gender and Sexual Identity Inclusion
Critical Thinking, Pluralism, and Intercultural Competency Development
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Two Worksheet: Analysis of Context, Readiness for Change, and
(Potential) Pushback
Chapter Three: Relationships and Trust: Build Deep Connection and
Understanding
Seek to Understand Why Community Members Are Resistant
Stay Curious and Avoid Getting Defensive
Try This: Use a Third Thing to Reduce Polarization and Build Trust
Encourage Dissent and Invite Dissonance
Cultivate Empathy, Vulnerability, and Open-Mindedness
Manage Pace with an Eye to Building Trust
Go Fast to Serve Students Now
Go Slow and Focus on the Long Game
Determine Urgency and Readiness to Establish Pace
Try This: Design a Risk Assessment Matrix to Determine Pace
Create Intentional Structures to Support Relationship Building
Learn and Lead With the Community
Try This: Coffee With the Leader, PBL-Style
Build Systems That Connect and Humanize
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Three Worksheet: Build and Maintain Relationships and Trust
Chapter Four: Use Varied Forms of Data to Inform the Journey
Use Quantitative Data to Inform Decisions
Transform Immeasurables and Develop a Shared Understanding
Try This: Use the Y Chart to Turn Squishy Goals Into Observable Metrics
Understand the Dangers (and Inevitable Appeal) of Traditional Metrics
Engage Other Ways of Knowing to Guide the Work
Leverage Street Data and Intuition to See the Bigger Picture
Engage Culturally Relevant Ways of Knowing
Address Religious Ideologies as Cultural Ways of Knowing
Consider a Middle Path that Integrates Traditional and Authentic Data
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Four Worksheet: What Are Your Data Sweet Spots?
Chapter Five: The Art of Listening: Leverage Community Voice to Support
Change
Elevate Student Voice to Confront Resistance
Engage Student Voice in Program Development and Governance
Engage Student Voice to Inspire and Educate the Community
Try This: The Student-Centered Insight Protocol
Involve Alumni to Help Motivate Change
Leverage Faculty Allies to Shape Initiatives
Involve Parents and Caregivers as Constructively as Possible
Include Caregiver Input Early in the Change Process
Engage Caregivers as Allies for Change
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Five Worksheet: Leverage Community Voice to Shape Initiatives and
Motivate Change
Chapter Six: Communicate with Purpose, on Purpose
Connect Initiatives to What Makes Us Who We Are
Connect Work to Your Schools Mission, Vision, and Core Values
Validate Where Were Going Through Legislation and School Policy
Change the Words, Not the Work
The DEI Debate and the Dream of a Common Language
Use Language That Fights Gravity
Dont Be Mad, Just Be Ready
Use Proactive (Not Reactive) Communication Focused on the Why
Communicate Early and Often
The Personal Agenda and Its Impact on Communication
Consider How (and If) to Communicate Beyond the Schoolhouse
Try This: The Communications Continuum
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Six Worksheet: Develop Communication Strategies That Engage With
Purpose and Intentionality
Chapter Seven: Prepare Your People, Protect Your People: Set the Stage for
Success
Provide Transformative Professional Learning for Teachers
Change Minds to Transform the Culture of Learning and Teaching
Lean into Self-Work as Professional Learning
Try This: Principles of Conversational Leadership and Shared Work
Incorporate Live It to Learn It Professional Learning
Utilize Job-Embedded, Collaborative Models for Sustainable Growth
Adapt Systems to Support Innovation and Implementation
Leverage Hiring and Onboarding to Sustain Change
Navigate the Hidden Agenda of Time
Hack Curriculum and Accountability Systems
Embrace Systems That Encourage Risk-Taking
Protect Your People When Opposition Arises
Support Educators With Marginalized Identities
Protect Teachers From External Demands and Restrictions
Build Partnerships With Supervisory Entities
Protect the Community From More Significant Harm
Try This: The After Action Review
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Seven Worksheet: Plan for Implementation That Prepares, Adapts,
and Protects
Chapter Eight: Lead With Humility, Courage, and Hope: Final Lessons From
Leaders
You Are Not an Island
Build Supportive Teams and Networks Inside the School
Engage Consultants, Coaches, and Experts
Contracting Experts: A Cautionary Tale
Leverage Support Organizations, Networks, and Cooperatives
Lean on Excellent Educational Institutions
Try This: Concentric Circles to Map Institutional Visits
Leadership Is a Journey
Prioritize Well-Being for Everyone, Including Yourself
Dont Let the Storm Hurt Your Resolve
Let Go of What No Longer Serves Your Community
Try This: Stop, Start, Continue, Restart
Celebrate Every Success
Hope Is a Verb that Invites Action
Focus on Your Locus of Control
Embrace Diverse Perspectives (Even When Its Hard)
Try This: Reflect on Wheatleys Lessons From Besieged Nuns
Plant Seeds for the Future
Action Steps
Personal Reflection Questions
Chapter Eight Worksheet: Prepare for the Journey Ahead
Interview Participants
Recommended Reading from Educational Leaders
References
Index
Jennifer D. Klein is a product of experiential project-based education herself, and she lives and breathes the student-centered pedagogies used to educate her. She became a teacher during graduate school in 1990, quickly finding the intersection between her love of writing and her fascination with educational transformation and its potential impact on social change. She spent nineteen years in the classroom, including several years in Costa Rica and eleven in all-girls education, before leaving the classroom to support educators professional learning in public, private, and international schools. Motivated by her belief that all children deserve a meaningful, relevant education like the one she experienced herself, and that giving them such an education will catalyze positive change in their communities and beyond, Jennifer strives to inspire educators to shift their practices in schools worldwide.
Jennifer is committed to intersecting globally-connected student-centered learning with identity-responsive and anti-racist teaching practices, and her experience includes deep work with schools seeking to address equity, take on brave conversations, build healthier communities, and improve identity politics on campus. She has a broad background in global education and global partnership development, student-centered curricular strategies, diversity and inclusivity work, student-led evaluation, outdoor education, and experiential, inquiry-driven learning. She has facilitated workshops in English and Spanish on four continents, providing the strategies for high-quality, globally connected project-based learning in all cultural and socioeconomic contexts, with an emphasis on amplifying student voice and shifting school culture to support such practices.
Jennifer has worked with organizations such as the Buck Institute for Education, the Center for Global Education at the Asia Society, The Institute for International Education, Fulbright Japan, What School Could Be, the Centre for Global Education, TakingITGlobal, and the World Leadership School, to name a few. Most recently, she served as Head of School at Gimnasio Los Caobos (Bogotá, Colombia) for three years, where she was able to put her educational thinking into practice with profound impact on the quality of student learning and their growth as agents of change.
Jennifers first book, The Global Education Guidebook: Humanizing K12 Classrooms Worldwide Through Equitable Partnerships, was published in 2017, and her second book, The Landscape Model of Learning: Designing Student-Centered Experiences for Cognitive and Cultural Inclusion, coauthored with Kapono Ciotti, was published in 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and a Master of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder, both in literature and creative writing. Additionally, Jennifer completed her principal licensing studies at the University of Denver. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
Learn more about bringing Jennifer to your school or conference at www.principledlearning.org.
