Culturally-Responsive & Affirming Social-Emotional Leadership
Holistically meeting the needs of the school community.
Culturally-Responsive & Affirming Social-Emotional Leadership
Holistically meeting the needs of the school community.
NEW RELEASE!
AVAILABLE NOW!
With its research-supported strategies, real-world examples, personal insights, and reflective exercises, educators can use this book to model self-awareness, self-care, vulnerability, and accountability for their community and co-create a shared vision and action plan with their colleagues.
articles about crasel
Leading with Heart and Justice: Cultivating Culturally Responsive Wellness in Harlem Schools
Published in Wellness Education Magazine, September 2025
In this feature essay, Dr. Dawn Brooks DeCosta reflects on how wellness, justice, and culturally responsive leadership intersect to shape the emotional and academic well-being of school communities. Drawing from her groundbreaking CRASEL (Culturally Responsive and Affirming Social Emotional Leadership) framework and her book The Change You Want to See, she illustrates how Harlem Community School District 5 has transformed its schools by centering empathy, reflection, and equity.
Dr. DeCosta challenges educators to see wellness not as an add-on, but as a justice imperative, a necessary foundation for belonging, agency, and collective healing. From district-wide partnerships in mindfulness and restorative practices to leadership grounded in self-awareness and cultural identity, this piece offers both inspiration and a blueprint for systemic transformation.
6 Tips to Build a More Affirming, Culturally-Responsive School
TC experts Mark Anthony Gooden and Dawn Brooks DeCosta (Ed.D. ’17, Ed.M. ’08) share wisdom for school leaders in their new book, The Change You Want to See
Harlem celebrates launch of ‘Culturally Responsive and Affirming Social-Emotional Leadership’ expansion project