Creating Equity-Centered Principal Pipelines

How can graduate programs prepare future principals to foster more equitable schools? Research has shown that significant educational disparities continue to persist across racial and ethnic lines in the United States, including in school and district leadership positions. And when it comes to the role of principal, less than one-quarter identify as leaders of color. A growing body of research shows how experienced, effective principals who come to work with an equity-focused mindset can make a difference in the lives of their students, ensuring that all can flourish in the classroom.

In fall 2021, the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling was named a partner recipient of an $8.2 million, five-year grant from the Wallace Foundation to address these disparities through the creation of a racial equity-centered principal pipeline. The Foundation, which funds justice-oriented initiatives in education leadership, the arts, and youth development, selected eight large school districts around the U.S. to build “principal pipelines” aligned to their needs and visions for an equitable environment. Portland Public Schools (PPS), one of the awarded districts, chose Lewis & Clark and Portland State University as its higher education partners, along with the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) and the Oregon Educator Advancement Council (EAC). The Lewis & Clark team is led by faculty co-directors Mollie Galloway, associate professor and department chair; Megan Barrett, assistant professor; and Lisa Collins, clinical assistant professor.

The inaugural cohort, composed of aspiring leaders from Portland Public Schools, who began their work in fall 2024, have been learning as a group under the redesigned principal license program.For the last four years, the partners have worked together to develop the pipeline’s features, including overhauling the existing Principal License Program curriculum and design to incorporate an even stronger racial equity-focused lens. The inaugural cohort, composed of aspiring leaders from Portland Public Schools, began their work in fall 2024, learning as a group under this redesigned program. Students in the cohort will soon be entering their second and final year, now equipped with a robust set of practical skills to bring to their school communities. This includes interpreting district demographic data, identifying areas for improvement, and collaborating with teachers to prioritize inclusivity in all educational realms. After completing the program, members of the cohort will be prepared to serve in school leadership positions in PPS. In recognition of the program’s initial success, the Wallace Foundation has extended funding for a sixth year.

Foundations for Success

Long before the cohort was selected, Lewis & Clark began collaborative work with PPS and other partner recipients to determine existing areas of strength and opportunities for growth at the graduate school. The first step was engaging faculty in ongoing racial consciousness coaching, as well as conducting an independent audit of the institution with the help of consultant Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, professor of educational administration at Ohio State University and a leading expert in anti-oppressive schooling practices.

Collins defines racial consciousness in this context in her 2023 article Healing Racial Trauma From Public School Systems “as knowing one’s ancestral knowledge (Khalifa, 2018) as a minoritized person and being grounded in or knowing the history of settler colonialism (Khalifa, 2018) in the United States to process and understand oppressive practices.”

To complement the audit, the graduate school brought together a large group of current and former students, faculty members, and district partners to develop a specific vision of what an equity-focused leader looks like. This led to the creation of the school’s Graduate Profile—a description of the leadership Lewis & Clark is intentionally working to develop and “program wisdoms” that students are expected to hold and advance. These wisdoms include centering love, healing, joy, and repair; self reflection and the navigation of power and positionality; and solidarity and agency across differences, among others.

The Graduate Profile focuses not just on the skills we need to have, but also on our disposition and mindset,” says Barrett “It’s about addressing the need for reconciliation and healing within our school communities, and understanding that school leaders have a central role to play in fostering equitable environments.”

Armed with the Graduate Profile as a foundational document, as well as feedback from the independent audit, the graduate school began to assess the existing Principal License curriculum and admissions processes, looking for areas where improvements could be made to align with the program wisdoms. Barrett connected with and brought on Drs. Ann O’Doherty, Michelle Young, and Katie Cunningham as consultants to develop the Profile, all of whom are specialists in education redesigns and share extensive experience with the Wallace Foundation.

“Lewis & Clark is the first school I’ve worked with that has called these program elements ‘wisdoms,’” says O’Doherty, who previously served as director of the Danforth Educational Leadership Program at the University of Washington. “I think it’s another piece of evidence of how committed Lewis & Clark is to this vision. It’s not just an area of knowledge or competency; it’s wisdom that is embedded in the curriculum.”

Reinventing Principal Training

From its inception, the Principal License Program has emphasized knowledge, skills, and courage to disrupt the status quo and create fairness in opportunities and outcomes, but the redesign sessions offered a valuable bird’s-eye view on how to incorporate holistic improvements across programming. The consultants, along with school and district leaders, shared real-life problems that were happening in their school communities, asking the question: “Would a graduate of this program be prepared to address this problem in practice?”

Students in the cohort are equipped with a robust set of practical skills to bring to their school communities, including interpreting district demographic data, identifying areas for improvement, and collaborating with teachers to prioritize inclusivity in all educational realms.One area of improvement that emerged was in clinical practice fieldwork––the hands-on leadership experiences that candidates have out in the field. Oregon requires 300 hours of internship tasks for administrative licensure, which Lewis & Clark’s program raised to 600. To facilitate meaningful learning experiences, PPS used its Wallace Grant funds to allocate 30 “sub” days for the cohort’s professional development, and the graduate school paired each student with a leader from outside the district who could offer guidance and mentorship. And then there was the matter of admissions: How might the graduate school go about recruiting, evaluating, and ultimately selecting applicants for the inaugural cohort?

In collaboration with PPS, Lewis & Clark developed and scored applicants based on a rubric of elements focused on the demonstration of equitable practices in schools. Finalists were brought to an “Assessment Center” to present their professional accomplishments, interpret real-life data from schools, and think through educational scenarios on their feet. The process narrowed the finalists to 12 students who are now in the cohort, most of whom are highly experienced teachers with aspirations to assume leadership positions at PPS.

‘It’s All About the Students’

Tracey Brown, who came to Lewis & Clark from a two-decade teaching career in PPS, has seen firsthand how principals can influence the lives and outcomes of students.

I’ve learned so much from the instructors and guest speakers of the program, and from having honest conversations about the culture of our schools,” says Brown. “For some of our students, there is no one there for them, and when I reflect on why I got into teaching, it’s all about the students. I know that as a principal I can be one of those people who makes an impact.”

For fellow cohort member Lauren Ayala, the program has been a source of both camaraderie and inspiration. “It’s important that we have representation within our school leadership so that we can bring in students and families of marginalized communities,” says Ayala. “It’s a perspective that’s missing from our district right now, and it’s been so empowering as an educator to learn from leaders who are strong people of color.”

Barrett noted that the depth of the partnerships in the program, particularly between Lewis & Clark and PPS, is rare, calling it a “true shared endeavor.” The graduate school works closely with several leaders at PPS who are instrumental in the grant’s work, including Loretta Benjamin-Samuels, senior director of professional learning and leadership; Dawn Gillis, director of professional learning and leadership; and Harriette Vimegnon EdD ’22, principal of Beaumont Middle School.

“The collaboration between PPS and Lewis & Clark—powered by the Wallace Foundation’s generous support—is more than a partnership; it’s a call to action,” says Gillis. “This partnership is a bold declaration of our shared commitment to justice. The inaugural cohort stands as a powerful testament to what’s possible when we invest in leaders who believe in fairness, lead with empathy, and dare to reimagine what schools can be. Through this transformative partnership, we are nurturing changemakers—leaders who listen with compassion, build trust with purpose, and lead with both courage and conviction. Long before assuming the principalship, these educators will be prepared to create vibrant environments where every student—especially those farthest from justice—can be seen, heard, and empowered to thrive.”

Collins describes the work the cohort is doing as focusing on their own well-being and ‘putting the oxygen masks on themselves,’ with benefits that will spread to the broader learning community.

“Working in school systems can be challenging as the social and political climate of our communities, cities, states, and nations are in flux, influencing day-to-day operations, relationships, and the overall environment of school systems,” explains Collins. “Students in the cohort are using trauma-informed practices rooted in peacebuilding, trauma and resilience studies, restorative justice, conflict transformation, human security, and spirituality to advance racial justice and equity.”

For Vimegnon, who earned her EdD at Lewis & Clark, working as a member of the redesign team and as an adjunct professor have been meaningful opportunities to build up the next generation of leaders.

My experience as an administrator has provided me with valuable insights that I am eager to share with the up-and-coming administrators,” she says. “School leadership is constantly changing, and the student populations we serve continue to become more diverse. We want future administrators to enter their positions with a reflective, equitable stance while also loving the children and the communities they will serve.”

For Lewis & Clark, the next phase is expanding the learnings from the Wallace Foundation cohort to other programs in the graduate school so that racial equity is centered in the training of all future educators and administrators. The ideals of Lewis & Clark’s Graduate Profile will continue to act as a North Star. The profile states: “In collaboration with their communities, Lewis & Clark leaders navigate the local socio-political and racial context with competence, confidence, and accountability to advocate for educational justice, culturally affirming practices, and transformation toward liberation.”