Equity Centered Pipeline Initiative

 

Our Racial Equity Centered Pipeline Initiative, or RECPI (pronounced like “recipe!”) is an acceleration of PPS’s existing leadership development work. In 2021, Portland Public was one of eight districts nationwide to receive the 5-year, 8.2 million dollar Equity Centered-Pipeline Initiative grant from the Wallace Foundation. PPS’s bold commitments to racial equity and the leadership pathways that our department had already launched made PPS a strong candidate for the grant.

Being part of the ECPI network means that we get to learn alongside seven other districts nationwide leading similar work. We are also part of three major research studies that will spread what we learn to wider audiences. 

The ECPI is rooted in 20 years of Wallace Foundation-funded research on the importance of principal leadership to schools and students - it is often quoted that “Principals are second only to teachers in their impact on student outcomes.” However, Wallace and not explicitly centered equity in their past efforts.

With RECPI, PPS and our partners - Portland State University, Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education, and many state partners - took things further to ensure that race is at the center of our leadership development system. We view RECPI as an opportunity to finally put racial equity at the center of our schools in practice, not just in our words.

At its core:

RECPI envisions every single PPS school led by a leader equipped with the skills to ensure every single student in the building - particularly Black, Indigenous, and other students of color - have access to an excellent academic and school experience.

We also envision a school leadership corps that reflects the diversity of our student population. 

Learn more about our leadership pathway programs and the entire RECPI initiative on the PPS RECPI website and on our department pages.