WACO, Texas — Indian Spring Middle School Principal Dr. Isaac Carrier has co-released a book called “Fighting the Good Fight: Narratives of the African American Principalship".
The book is about those who make an impact written by those who have and continue to make impact. Together with Denver's Dr. Arron J. Griffen, the two go into depth as the book centers around the personal experiences of African American school principals.
As a former principal and current Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Denver's DSST Public Schools, Dr. Griffen also helped co-edit the book.
Published by Word & Deed Publishing Inc., Carrier says he credits the idea to write the book based on his own experiences.
“The idea for this book really began about 10 years ago as I reflected on my experience on my path to the principalship,” Carrier said. “That reflection was magnified when I completed my dissertation and found that of the participants in my research study, each had very similar stories regarding their ascent to the principalship and ultimately into the superintendency. My co-editor and I discussed how to best tell this story, and the idea of a collection of narratives evolved.”
Carrier says he hopes that the book will inspire those to have conversations about bringing more people of color into leadership positions in the education system. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2018 only ten percent of American Principals were people of color.
“It is my hope that this book certainly becomes a part of the larger conversation of equity as it relates to opportunities for leaders of color in our profession,” Carrier said. “I believe there is an opportunity for the book to influence theory and perhaps a theoretical framework will evolve for research purposes as well. Of course, we hope it inspires and motivates readers to stay in and increase our efforts in ‘fighting the good fight’ as our kids deserve that and more.”
To kick off Black History Month, the authors will discuss their book in a webinar on Feb. 1. The session will be hosted by Pure Edge, Inc., a private foundation that provides professional development to enhance social-emotional learning in schools.