Shane Safir - The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation

This luminous book guides school leaders in developing a school culture of trust, empowerment, and excellence. With compassion and clarity, Safir coaches the hard work of leading and sustaining changewhile keeping our focus squarely on equity for every learner.

Kathleen Cushman
co-author of Belonging and Becoming: The Power of Social and Emotional Learning in High Schools

If only I had read this fifty years ago. It took me time to learn that listening is teaching; and then, that being a leader is being a teacher! Shane's wise and practical book is what I didn't have then, and it's fantastic that we all have it now.

Deborah Meier
senior scholar at New York University's Steinhardt School of Education, author of The Power of Their Ideas, Lessons to America from a Small School in Harlem, and In Schools We Trust.

As a leader in a diverse urban school, this book fills a void that I didn't realize was there. I'm sure these practical ideas on how to be a better listening leader will improve my practice immensely!

Audrey Amos
principal, John Muir Elementary School

Shane Safir has written a brilliant book. As engaging as it is informative and as revelatory as it is relevant. It is a must-read for school leaders and those who aspire to lead.

Chris Emdin
associate professor of science education, Teachers College, Columbia University

This book is a must have for any leader trying to move the needle on equity. Drawing from her lived experience as a principal and leadership coach, Safir offers stories that give insight and practical strategies that get results. It's one you'll keep coming back to.

Zaretta Hammond
author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain

In The Listening Leader, Shane Safir eloquently describes a powerful approach to school transformation that starts with listening to the school communityincluding teachers, students, and familiesand highlights the importance of cultivating leadership at every level. I encourage anyone interested in understanding how to improve our schools to read her book.

Shael Polakow-Suransky
president, Bank Street College of Education

Shane's book is a must-read for new leaders as it underscores the often overlooked and under-practiced power of listening in leadership. This interactive book offers an alternative and empowering path to creating humanizing spaces in schools and immediately changed the way I interacted with students, teachers, families and community members.

Tamara Friedman
assistant principal, Berkeley High School

Shane Safir's The Listening Leader is a godsend to a field of thinkers, doers, and reactors. From the very first sentence, Safir draws us into her personal story of leadership as well her wisdom on how listening can be a powerful act of transformation for individuals, schools, and communities. Reading this book illustrates how infrequently listening actually happens in our schools and school systems. Thankfully, Safir invites in a way that allows us to learn how to listen and use what we hear to take action on behalf of our students. Whether you are a teacher, coach, school or central office leader, this book will provide you with a fresh perspective and the necessary tools for moving forward as a listening leader.

Max Silverman
associate director, University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership

The Listening Leader, based on solid theoretical foundations and chock-full of stories, offers a rich and extensive exploration of this vital skill. After reading this book, you'll have no doubt about the powerful role that listening plays in leadership and you'll have many tools to refine your listening.

Elena Aguilar
author of The Art of Coaching and The Art of Coaching Teams

The need for action to be informed by reflection is not an idea that is foreign to social justice educators. What is often missing, however, is how one's reflective process is shaped by their ability to listen to their community. From a space of vulnerability and introspection, Safir demonstrates a commitment to praxis and the powerful role that listening plays in our work.

Darrick Smith
assistant professor of educational leadership, University of San Francisco

Shane Safir recognizes that in order to build equity and excellence in our schools that we have to lead with our ears and not our mouths. She provides excellent practical suggestions on how to do just that in The Listening Leader.

Larry Ferlazzo
educator, teacher advice columnist, and author

At a time when leaders are in search of different approaches to transform schools, we have a new approach. Safir offers a compelling framework on how to engage in listening as an innovative approach to leadership. Through listening in caring, empathetic, and relational ways, the ingredients for equity can become a reality. An excellent read for school leaders. Read, listen, and learn!

Tyrone C. Howard
professor and associate dean, University of California Los Angeles

For today's educational leader, The Listening Leader gives us the most precious giftthe opportunity to pause and reflect. We must take seriously Safir's call to slow down, tune into ourselves and others, and lead with the kind of integrity that is born out of a sense of collective purpose; this is the path towards meaningful school improvement."

Young Whan Choi
manager of performance assessments, Oakland Unified School District

Equitable school transformation is what is most needed in today's schools, and The Listening Leader provides the guidance and practical tools for educators to achieve it. Shane Safir pulls on her deep knowledge of academic and professional learning communities in order to provide educators with a special resource that we can all readily use. This book is a must-have for anyone seeking to positively transform their learning community.

Raquel Topete
instructional coach, East Side Union High School District

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