Navigating I’s/We: A Case Study of Implementing a Districtwide Professional Development for Pre-K Teachers

Abstract

In this chapter, we present a pedagogical case of a district-led professional development (PD) initiative for pre-kindergarten teachers in one of the nation’s largest and most diverse districts. The current literature on system-wide capacity building for teachers in general and those related to social emotional learning, equity and justice particularly has limited coverage concerning early learning, pre-kindergarten specifically; this case study underscores the importance and possibly missing opportunities for cultivating an educational workforce section that is the “firsts” when the students of diverse backgrounds enter the education system. Based on real-life events and scenarios, we invite readers to enter the protagonist, a transnational woman leader of color’s lived experiences of leading the PD initiative to bear witness and learn by co-journeying and co-reflecting with her. The case shows the complexity in systemic change, richness and fluidity of situated knowledge, and creativity and empowerment brought by indigeneity and reflexivity of community of color—one has deep implications for how we think about who leaders are and what means to lead empathetically, equitably, and sustainably.