CULTURALLY COMPETENT COMMON CORE: THE NEWEST DEAL

Abstract

There are five essential elements that will enable school leaders to implement culturally
competent school reform under the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS) in K-12
schools. These five elements have been selected from the best practices of school leadership and
are the theoretical constructs believed to be critical for the most successful implementation of the
CCSS. The following are included in this design: (a) culturally competent leadership, (b) shared
vision, (c) community collaboration, (d) culturally inclusive practices, and (e) ethical dimensions
of school leadership. Each element is described in the article and implications are provided for
school leaders and school community members. Educational leaders who embrace these
elements will be better equipped to move through the phases of whole school reform, while
moving away from a deficit model of student learning into a more dynamic mode of school
engagement and educational reform.