Leaders for Equity and Democracy

A Year of Firsts

Our first cohort of the Leaders for Equity and Democracy (LEAD) EdD program in system leadership entered their second year of doctoral studies in 2022, amassing multiple program “firsts” along the way. Students experienced their first Assessment Center, a signature pedagogy of our Leadership Programs, in which students simulate cabinet-level school district leaders who are attending to a pressing equity issue. They are given a real-world scenario with significant time constraints and asked to address the problem while balancing tensions in values and priorities among multiple constituent groups. In their first poster presentations at an academic conference, the LEADers shared their emerging research and its connection to system transformation. And, in perhaps one of the most exciting “firsts,” students began system leadership field visits, including a group learning trip to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Together, these experiences and others throughout students’ threeyear doctoral journey aim to prepare practicing PK–20 educational leaders for senior roles within public education.

LEAD blends cohort-based learning with personalized pathways, allowing students to take foundational courses that dig deeply into issues of system leadership and transformative change while retaining access to world-class faculty who specialize in specific areas of practice.

For more information about Leaders for Equity and Democracy, visit bse.berkeley.edu/lead or contact LEAD Director Lihi Rosenthal at lihi@berkeley.edu.