The Equity-Centered Capacity Building Network (ECCBN) was formed to help clarify the approaches and impact of equity-centered capacity building for the education field. Network members work with school systems and states to produce sustainable change in school districts, prepare students to realize their full potential and contribute to the well-being of their communities and global society.

1We seek to promote evidence-based approaches to equity, quality, cultural responsiveness and partnerships with students and communities.

2We believe that systems capacity-building methods that drive equity and excellence can overcome the most daunting challenges education, students and communities face.

3We have seen that students of color and those from families with modest means excel academically, socially and personally when whole systems are transformed to focus on equity and excellence. The journal volume articulates how they, and all students, can succeed.

ECCBN member and partner organizations cover east coast, midwest, west coast and southern districts, regions and states, with four decades of experience. The ECCBN draws on a rich history of work in small and large, urban and rural systems throughout the United States, including such locations as Albuquerque, N.M.; Baltimore; Denver; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Minneapolis; New York City; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia; Racine, Wisc.; San Antonio; San Francisco;  Washington, D.C.; among other areas.

The Network offers a lens, skills and strategies to support school systems, communities and states to address issues of power, race, poverty, special education status, gender and other dynamics of difference, as well as historical community, cultural and political tensions as they relate to the healthy functioning of school systems. The Network’s approaches cover strategies for:

• whole system transformation;
• strengthening leadership capacity at school and district levels;
• equity-centered, high-quality instruction;
• equitable distribution of resources;
• robust systems of supports for tapping students’ emotional and academic intelligence and meeting their socio-emotional needs;
• accountability systems, data collection and use;
• authentic partnering with families and communities to envision and evaluate new directions; and
• drawing on students’ strengths, passions and honoring their cultural histories.