Ward, Bradley2023-11-302023-11-302023-08https://hdl.handle.net/11299/258901University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2023. Major: Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. Advisors: Muhammad Khalifa, Katie Pekel. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 151 pages.There remains a persistent gap in achievement, commonly referred to as the opportunity gap, when disaggregating standardized assessment data across racial groups (Jackson, 2011; Muhammad, 2015). The purpose of this study was to analyze the actions of leaders in four schools that have successfully closed the opportunity gap across different racial groups for a sustained period of time. This mixed methods study measured the efficacy of each school using the Organizational Efficacy Scale while collecting interview data concerning leaders’ perceptions of students who struggle academically, messages of educational equity, and why they think their school has had success closing the opportunity gap. A framework built with a systems view for addressing the embeddedness of racism and colorblind practices in schools was used to analyze the data. Findings from the study revealed that equity-minded principals who have engaged in on-going personal work on equity worked tirelessly to keep educational equity in the forefront of formal and informal interactions with staff, choosing equity-forward informal leaders to help guide the professional development for the school. Each school in the study scored high on organizational efficacy indicating an internal belief that school staff can achieve their equity-related goals. Finally, there was a confidence at each school that district level leadership and the school board of education were in full support of the equity work at the school. The findings suggest that for schools to be successful in closing the opportunity gap, focus and attention must be always centered on educational equity both at the individual and organizational levels.enLeadershipOpportunity GapThesis or Dissertation