Based on in-depth interviews, Striving for Equity brings to light the complex and illuminating stories of thirteen longtime superintendents--all leaders of the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN)--who were able to make progress toward narrowing opportunity and achievement gaps in traditional school districts with diverse populations and multiple, competing agendas. Drawing on current research in organizational learning, the authors introduce a framework consistent with the systemic perspective of these superintendents to help school leaders who want to prioritize the narrowing of gaps.

Core chapters are devoted to discussing in detail the central strategies of these superintendents, and illustrating how each of these leaders employed them in their particular circumstances. This book reveals the multifaceted, personal nature of this work and factors that proved to be most critical to progress.
About the Author: Robert G. Smith is currently an associate professor in the George Mason College of Education and Human Development's Education Leadership program. He retired from preK-12 public education in 2009 after forty-four years in the field. He worked as a teacher, building administrator, and central office administrator, concluding his public school career after twelve years as the superintendent of the Arlington (Virginia) Public Schools. His research interests include school and school district leadership, opportunity and achievement gaps, collaborative inquiry, and teaching for meaning. Smith is coauthor, with Arlington colleagues, of Gaining on the Gap: Changing Hearts, Minds and Practice and has authored or coauthored a number of book chapters, as well as articles appearing in publications such as Harvard Education Letter, Journalism Quarterly, High School Journal, Public Administration Quarterly, Equity and Excellence in Education, School Administrator, and Reading Today. Smith earned his PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park.

S. David Brazer is an associate professor and Director of the Leadership Degree Programs in the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. Brazer spent fifteen years as a middle and high school teacher and administrator, serving during the last six years of his K-12 career as a high school principal. His primary research interests include decision making in schools and districts, school improvement, instructional leadership and teacher collaborative teams, and leadership preparation. He teaches leadership seminars and courses in the Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies and joint MA/MBA programs. His recent theoretical and empirical publications have appeared in Educational Administration Quarterly, Leadership and Policy in Schools, and various edited volumes. He is the second author (with Scott Bauer) of Using Research to Lead School Improvement: Turning Evidence into Action (2012, Sage Publications). Brazer received his PhD from Stanford University.