What Goes Unspoken - by Krystal Hardy Allen (Paperback)

About the Book

"School leaders need to ensure their leadership is relevant, responsive, and effective to meet the needs and demands of the moment and increasingly diverse body. Understanding the school's role in supporting historically marginalized populations ensures both psychological and emotional safety of students and staff. There is growing pressure from social justice advocates, communities, and political legislation to hold schools accountable for enacting and improving sustainable DEI within schools and systems"--

Book Synopsis

Practical ways and tools for school leaders to operationalize diversity, equity, and inclusion

What Goes Unspoken is a must-have guide for any school or educational systems leader looking to comprehend and put into play an effective, equity-centered plan that champions students, teachers, and staff. Moving beyond the abundant resources that focus on DEI theories, author Krystal Hardy Allen shows leaders and administrators how to concretely center DEI within both practices and policies, as well as how to do the interpersonal work of becoming a self-aware and equity-focused leader. With these resources, you'll learn how to ensure that DEI is embedded in your strategic planning to create schools and education organizations that are transformative, inclusive, and equitable for both children and adults.

Focusing on ten specific domains of school leadership and district operations--including school board governance, finance, community engagement, instruction, school culture, and more--this book shows you exactly how to shift from theory to action. Instead of investing thousands of dollars in trainings and initiatives that are often piecemeal, abstract, or at times ineffective, it's essential that that leaders learn practical steps to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at the district, school, and classroom levels. Drawing on her own school leadership and international educational consultant experience, Allen teaches you to:

• Better understand your role as a leader within your school or district's DEI work and how the intrapersonal work you do influences your decisions
• Prioritize an equity-informed view, policies, and practices within different areas of teacher development, school operations and finance, parent engagement, student culture, school board governance, marketing and branding, and more
• Clarify the relationship between DEI and your schools' or district's mission, vision, values, and goals
• Build an effective strategic plan at the school or district level that provides both guidance and accountability to your school or district's DEI journey

In the current cultural and sociopolitical climate, What Goes Unspoken is a must-read for leaders and administrators of public and private schools, as well as district personnel and educational leadership training programs.

From the Back Cover

PUT EQUITY AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING YOU DO WITH THIS INFORMATIVE GUIDE TO DEI-IN-PRACTICE

While teachers have practical resources for bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion into the classroom, educational leaders have only had theory. We've been trying our best to implement the theory, but often our efforts fall short. What Goes Unspoken closes the gap, offering administrators, board members, and other leaders concrete advice on creating equity-centered districts and schools. Inside, you'll find boots-on-the-ground explanations of what DEI really looks like in different domains--from marketing and human resources to student culture and family engagement. You'll also get a step-by-step guide to creating a DEI action plan that integrates with your broader strategic planning initiatives.

To become true DEI champions, we all need to take a look inside, unpacking -- and sometimes unlearning -- our own socialization. In What Goes Unspoken, you'll work through these important intrapersonal questions, so you can ensure that your work isn't performative, short-sighted, or ineffective. This book begins where more theoretical books end -- with the hands-on work of implementation.

"Diversity and equity are critical components in creating an inclusive and welcoming environment in any organization or community. Feeling accepted, valued, and recognized as part of the community is a basic need for all humans. What Goes Unspoken guides educational organizations as they begin to understand how to systematically create a culture of acceptance, empathy, and opportunities for all."
-- Geri Gillespy, Ed.D., Education Industry Executive, StraightUpEDU

About the Author

KRYSTAL HARDY ALLEN is founder and CEO of K. Allen Consulting, an international education and management consulting firm. She is also an education advocate, an award-winning former teacher and school principal, and a well-respected thought leader. Operating within nine countries, her firm's education clients have included systems such as New Orleans Public Schools, The KIPP Foundation, and Chicago Public Schools as well as major corporate brands like Amazon and Apple. Krystal's work centers around DEI, social justice, adult learning, and organizational development. A first-generation college graduate, Krystal is a native of historic Selma, Alabama, and earned her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, M.Ed. from NLU-Chicago, and completed doctoral coursework at Teachers College, Columbia University.