Leadership magazine Sept/Oct 2016 V46 No 1 | Page 12

Learn the secret
language of equity to
build trust in school
A sense of ‘community,’

coupled with ‘regard’
for students, informs
the how-to of

cultivating genuine

relationships with the

students targeted in

your equity initiatives.

12

Leadership

As someone who has learned
about building trust with students from
every walk of life, I will begin by pointing
to an extremely powerful but commonly
under-used concept: Community.
When I speak of community here, I am
not talking about the everyday use of that
particular noun; rather, I am referring to
a “vibrant reality” that such a word can
convey. Specifically, what I am offering for
your consideration is the wonderful spirit,
rich human feelings and full-spectrum experiences the idea of community can mean
in our lives.
It would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that I understand, as education leaders and administrators, the concept of
community is not at all new to you. And
further, when you carry out your duties
overseeing the welfare of your school, you
do what you can so that your site operates
as a community for the body of students
and educational professionals you serve.
But the point I am making is something
different; the seed of my message is in the
following statement: “Community should
function as an overarching tool for building trust.”

That may not be news. But what I believe
is news you’ve been waiting for is clear instruction for the “how to” regarding growing relationships and building trust with
your students – especially students of color,
English language learners, lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender students, foster
students, and all of the students targeted in
your equity initiatives.
My goal is to provide you with the beginnings of a roadmap that focuses on the
golden keys that my work in this arena have
uncovered. Also, because I enjoy switching
things up a bit, here is a list of certain outcomes I’m excited to share even before I offer
my roadmap:
•  Greatly improved connection and rapport between students and educators.
•  More respect being displayed across the
board – leaders, teachers and youth.
•  Students being more accountable for
their performance and their attitudes.
•  Students having a greater interest in becoming leaders and being responsible.
•  The most vulnerable students feeling
they are supported and can achieve.
By Aliah K. MaJon