There is a pressing need for educational leaders to keep the current focus on accountability and test scores in perspective and to develop leadership approaches that are equitable, inclusive, and socially just. This is true whether one is working in the American context within the framework of the reauthorized No Child Left Behind legislation, or the European context in which the research summary Framework of Reference of the European Qualification Network for Effective School Leaders explains five leadership domains (political and cultural expectations, understanding and empowering teachers, structuring and culturing schools, working with partners, and personal development and growth). What is surprising in the latter document is the lack of focus on the diversity of the student population in most (if not all) European countries and the lack of attention paid to the need for school leaders to consider the specific and changing needs of many schools and school districts.

Reports that “the number of homeless people in western Europe is at its highest level in 50 years, with homelessness levels not seen since the end of World War II…” (youthxchange, nd); or that over “one million refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2015” (Charities …, 2016) are somehow not deemed relevant to discussions of appropriate school leadership for the 21^st century; yet, there is no doubt that these and other recent demographic phemonena impinge on the ability of educators to successfully educate all students.

It is rare that educational leaders begin by examining the social contexts in which the educational institution is located to identify barriers that may prevent some groups of students from feeling fully included, welcome, and respected. Yet, if students are worrying about where their family will find shelter for the night, if they are hungry, or if they are afraid of being taunted, or worse physically bullied, because of their name, the color of their skin, their accent, dress, or country of birth, it is clear that focusing on learning is nearly impossible. Schools must take responsibility for creating inclusive and respectful environments in which all students can learn.

Blaming the student or his or her family is not acceptable. This is one reason why the achievement gap should more appropriately be known as an empowerment gap, or at the very least, as an opportunity gap—more appropriately putting much of the responsibility on the school rather than placing the blame on the students and families themselves.

Further, this is where transformative leadership theory (TLT) can offer school leaders an approach explicitly centered on inclusion, equity, and social justice. TLT (Shields, 2012; Starratt, 2011; Weiner, 2003) embraces some of the well-known tasks of school principals related to setting direction, managing people, and so on, but it goes farther. Transformative leadership holistically addresses eight specific tenets focused on providing an excellent education to all children. It provides a new, inclusive, and equitable lens though which to lead and manage all aspects of schooling—including the climate, the curriculum, human resources, fiscal and facility issues, and so forth. It is clear that if schools are to succeed with increasingly diverse and impoverished populations, it is incumbent on school leaders to adopt a theoretical approach that offers guidance for these new challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of one school superintendent who embraces the principles of transformative leadership and hence, to demonstrate ways in which this radically different approach to leadership offers hope and promise for the success of a highly diverse and challenging student body.

Charities warn of ‘desperate plight of refugees in Europe, NDTV, Agence France-Presse, January 19, 2016 accessed January 2016 at http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/charities-warn-of-desperate-plight-of-refugees-in-europe-1267729 Clandinin, D.J. & Connelly F.M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass publishers. Dimmock, C., & Walker, A. (2004). A new approach to strategic leadership: Learning centredness, connectivity and cultural context in school design. School Leadership & Management, 24(1), 39–56. Evers, C. W., & Wu, E. H. (2006). On generalising from single case studies: Epistemological reflections. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 40(4), 511–526 Reissman, C. K., (2008), Narrative methods for the human sciences, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Shields, C. M., (2012), Transformative leadership in education: Equitable change in an uncertain and complex world, New York: Routledge. Starratt, R. J., (2011), Preparing transformative educators for the work of leading schools in a multicultural, diverse, and democratic society, In C. M. Shields (Ed.), Transformative leadership: A reader (pp. 131-136). New York: Peter Lang. Weiner, E. J. (2003). Secretary Paulo Freire and the democratization of power: Toward a theory of transformative leadership. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(1), 89–106. YouthXchange (nd) Homeless/Europe, a report of YouthXchange, of UNEP/UNESCO accessed January 2016 at http://www.youthxchange.net/main/b236_homeless-p.as