In a school with equitable leadership, decision-making bodies reflect the racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic diversity of the community. The school models its ideal for an equitable environment by recruiting, retaining and developing staff, students, parents and community members from diverse backgrounds to serve as leaders at all levels.

Small size is not a guarantee of equitable leadership. Small schools need to take advantage of specific aspects of their structure and culture to ensure they retain leadership that reflects the wider community. Some of these elements include active involvement of community members, students and parents, distributive leadership, and autonomy in hiring. 

Key conditions to strive for when trying to establish equitable leadership include: 

• School decision-making bodies actively recruit and develop representatives who reflect the diversity of the school community
• Teacher-leader positions are shared by staff from different backgrounds
• Hiring practices aggressively seek teachers and administrators who reflect the demographics of the community
• Parents and community members from all cultural, racial, ethnic, linguistic special needs and socioeconomic backgrounds are involved in all aspects of the school and decision making
• School actively involves community and parents through home visits, forums, focus groups, town hall meetings and community events
• School and the community create open and explicit dialogue regarding issues of student achievement, equity, diversity and empowerment

Review this element on the Oregon Small Schools Initiative School Change Rubric Self-Assessment Tool.