HARRISON BAILEY III acknowledge that diversity exists. “If I look diferent, I get treated diferently, which fies in the face of the philosophy of ‘Oh, we’re all the same,’” Beachum says. “Yeah, we may all be human, but guess what? We don’t treat everybody the same. We treat people diferently according to their histories, their language, their appearance and a whole host of things. So one of the frst lessons for leaders is the recognition of the diferences.” Beachum says the other message white leaders need to remember is “diferences are not defcits.” The issue isn’t that people have diferences, but leaders need to ask themselves how they can respect those diferences, including languages, religions and cultural experiences. “What ends up happening is, if the diferences become defcits, then those things that make you you are problematic,” Beachum says. What Beachum says school leaders would beneft from is culturally relevant leadership where they have critical consciousness, pluralistic insights and refexive practice. Essentially, how does one gain new knowledge, how does their attitude change based on that knowledge and then how is it refected in everyday practice in a way that benefts all students? THE LEHIGH FACTOR In addition to Gordon and Bailey, other COE graduates have received accolades for their leadership. Joseph Roy ’09G, Bethlehem Area School District’s superintendent, leads one of the most diverse districts in Pennsylvania and was named Pennsylvania’s Superintendent of the Year in 2017. Bridget O’Connell ’95 ’97G ’07 Ph.D., who is currently superintendent of the Palisades School District in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, received the same honor in 2022. College of Education Dean William Gaudelli says there are a number of reasons why Lehigh’s program has produced so many successful educational leaders. Urban Principals Academy (U*PAL) and its Founding Director Jon Drescher, professor of practice in the educational leadership program, have helped to better prepare leaders by focusing on how school leaders can be efective in an urban context and all its challenges. “Bringing that to the curriculummakes a big diference in terms of how people think about the work and don’t see diversity, equity, inclusion as something that another person in the school is responsible for—that it’s the work of the principal, the work of the district leader to do it,” Gaudelli says. SCAN TO WATCH HARRISON’S VIDEO INTERVIEW The program’s curriculum features vital lessons on innovative and efective leadership through experiential learning and creative classes. In addition toU*PAL, Gaudelli says, Lehigh’s historical focus in its educational leadership program has been on urban education and educational leadership for urban education. While the logistics of running a school was an emphasis, more focus has been put on what it means to serve BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students in urban situations where students often face signifcant trauma. Gaudelli also pointed to the work of individual faculty on trauma- and diversity-related issues. “What makes us distinct as an institution … is having a lot of people interested across the faculty in what the most vulnerable kids in our schools face, and studying how to best address their needs,” he says. Gordon says Lehigh’s educational leadership program helped him in several ways, including by teaching him to be empathetic and helping him to understand the challenges of leadership. “Lehigh really teaches the idea around service— that we’re here to serve children, in a sense, serve others,” Gordon says. “... We want to be able to leave our communitiesbetter thanthewaywe found them.” Bailey says he learned about patience, empathy and how to approach students in crisis without escalating the situation. “I think that’s something as a leader that you have to do, not just with students, but with your staf and with community members, with parents,” Bailey says. “I think my training at Lehigh, in that particular program, really helped me understand people, and particularly people in crisis.” L The Wellness Center at Liberty High School S UMM E R 2 0 2 2 | 2 1
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