February 10, 2021
Dear SRI Community,
The year 2020 presented us with so many challenges, and huge opportunities to support incredible changes in education. As the leader of this organization, I prioritized meeting the needs of the learning community and removing any obstacles that would prevent us from keeping equity and excellence for all children first. We increased our number of virtual offerings and made an intentional pivot to support educators with much deeper conversations about race, social justice, and equity that would lead to bold moves for children who have been pushed to the margins in our schools. If you attended SRI sessions over the last year, you were part of the conversations where we discussed how to use protocols in more meaningful and intentional ways towards equity. We realized it was less about the protocol and more about the facilitator using the protocol structure to create a learning space with the intention to liberate and empower others to use their voice, share their equity journey, and work collaboratively to improve outcomes for students and communities.
Outside of my role as Executive Director, like many of you, I also juggled other roles and worked hard to balance self-care, being a compassionate partner to my husband, and being a caregiver of my aging parents. Clarity of purpose and direction often comes amid challenge and change. I have had the opportunity to reflect deeply about my equity journey, and I while I am more committed now than ever to achieving racial equity and excellence in schools, I have made the decision to step down as Executive Director of School Reform Initiative at the end of February.
The School Reform Initiative supports adult learners with creating and engaging in transformational learning communities. The organization has done this work for over eleven years and will continue to do this work for years to come. Serving as Executive Director over the last two years has taught me a great deal about myself and who I am as a leader. There is deeper work that I want to do in districts, schools, and communities. Achieving and sustaining equity in schools requires understanding the lived experiences of members of the community in which the school serves. Their lived experiences should be the guide for doing the work of achieving equity in schools with them and not for them.
Beginning March 1st, I will launch my own district and school leadership development practice that focuses on organizational improvement by assessing for equity gaps using my community-engaged equity audit model. I express my sincere gratitude for the School Reform Initiative affiliates, organizational partners, and staff. When so many organizations were not able to sustain the pandemic, our community of learners came together in ways I never imagined keeping this organization moving forward. I value the work we did, the relationships we built and deepened, and the ways we demonstrated our fierce commitment to equity and excellence.
Sincerely,
Deirdre S. Williams, Ed.D.
Executive Director
