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Dantley, M. E. & Tillman, L. C. (2006). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In Marshall, C., Oliva, M. (Eds.), Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education. (pp. 16–30). New York: Pearson.

Gardner, J. W. (2000). The nature of leadership. In Fullan, M, (Ed.) The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership. (pp. 3-12) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lehnardt, K. (2017, February 17). 79 Interesting Facts about Education and Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.factretriever.com/education-and-literacy-facts

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2018, January) [Graphs] Public Education Funding Inequity in an Era of Increasing Concentration of Poverty and Resegregation. Retrieved from http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018-01-10-Education-Inequity.pdf

Shields, C. (2010). Transformative leadership: working for equity in diverse contexts. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(4). 558-589. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X10375609

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An estimated 2/3 of students who are unable to read with proficiency by the end of 4th grade will end up on welfare or in jail. (Lehnardt, 2017)

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Uneducated girls are four times more likely to have child before their 19th birthday than those with a secondary education. (Lehnardt, 2017)

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About 12% of black students are held back in 9th grade, while just 4% of white students are. Black students are nearly three times more likely to be held back as their white peers (Lehnardt, 2017)

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In the United States, 14% of new teachers resign by the end of their first year, 33% leave within their first 3 years, and almost 50% leave by their 5th year (Lehnardt, 2017)

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Poor students with practically the same grades as their wealthier classmates are 75% less likely to apply to selective colleges. However, 40% of the top-performing students come from the poorer half of the country. (Lehnardt, 2017)

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According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), only 53% of children ages 3 to 5 were read to daily by a family member. Children living below the poverty line were less likely to be read aloud to every day. Children who are read to frequently are more likely to count to 20 or higher, write their own names, and read or pretend to read. (Lehnardt, 2017)

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Black students make up 16% of U.S. school enrollment, but make up 32% of students who receive in-school suspensions, 42% of students who receive multiple out-of-school suspensions, and 34% of students who are expelled (Lehnardt, 2017)

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Black students in the U.S. are expelled at three times the rate of white students. (Lehnardt, 2017)

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Black and Latino students account for 40% of enrollment at schools with gifted and talented programs, but they represent only 26% of students in such programs. (Lehnardt, 2017)

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As a leader in America's public education system, social justice in education must be a priority. Today's students face a road full of barriers to quality education, including poverty, privilege, and social and economic inequities.  Leadership in education needs to open their eyes to these barriers and lead their schools and communities toward positive change.  A good leader thinks about the unit they are heading, and about its relationship to larger realities (Gardner, 2000), one of which is the pervasive inequalities that still exist in today's society. American educators see the face of these challenges every day in the classroom, yet policy reformers are often blind to these facts.  We need to take off the blindfolds and realize the problems that exist in our education system.  We need our leaders to step up to the challenge of breaking the cycle of social injustice.

Social justice in education means understanding that intellectual and academic work takes place in a sphere surrounded and impacted by social, political, economic, and cultural realities (Dantley & Tillman, 2006). Leaders in education must identify and deconstruct these realities in order to examine how their schools are contributing to the inequitable treatment of minorities and marginalized individuals (Dantley & Tillman, 2006). This process of critical reflection and analysis must then move the transformational leader into action- to not only provide access for the underprivileged while in school, but to ensure equitable opportunities for students as they become valuable members of society (Shields, 2010).

In turn, this means closing the gaps and disparities in education between race, socioeconomic status, and gender.  It means embracing the cultural differences in our societies and working with all stakeholders- not just those with power and privilege.  It means making education better for everyone, creating opportunities where they are lacking, making school a safe place for every walk of life, and catching students before they fall through the cracks.  It means supporting teachers with the ever-changing face of inequity in education.  It means involving parents and the community in the education of our youth- because our future depends on it.  Social justice means giving voice to those that go unheard, and speaking up for those who can't.

You've heard the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child," and we all know it to be true.  Our village has different cultures, religions, incomes, educations, values, beliefs, languages, ethnicities, and backgrounds.  If it takes this village to raise our children, then we need to know our village and we need to give them voice in their children's education.  Education leaders have a responsibility to include a diversity of parents and community members in school decisions.  Leaders must have the courage to question the status quo, face those challenges head on, hear the voices of everyone involved, and using those voices to lead change.