Creating
Schools That
Work for All of Us
A Guide to
Empowered Stewardship
Benjie Howard
Patricia McDonald
Gary Howard
Wade Antonio Colwell
Creating Schools That Work for All of Us: A Guide to Empowered Stewardship is your invitation to lead with purpose, nurture intergenerational collaboration, and cultivate a school culture where equity is both a value and daily practice.
This guidebook is grounded in decades of equity-centered practice and liberatory design aligned to the Seven Commitments of Stewardship. It brings together research-informed frameworks, guiding metaphors, and concrete strategies to help educators take action with courage, clarity, and care.
Use Empowered Stewardship to lead professional learning, deepen your own practice, or co-create conditions for empowered learning with your students and colleagues.
Integrates personal, professional, and organizational inquiry into a coherent framework for school transformation
Anchors each phase of the journey in equity, joy, and inter-generational learning
Includes 40+ adaptable strategies for collaborative teams, leadership development, and classroom practice
Aligned with design thinking, culturally responsive pedagogy, and systems-level change
Includes vivid visual tools and reflection routines that support sustainable implementation
Meet The Authors
Benjie Howard
Benjie Howard is an author, poet, touring musician, educator, wilderness guide and consultant. He is the Co-founder of Youth Empowered Stewardship, a nationally recognized intergenerational education program focused on growing partnerships for equity, inclusion, and stewardship in schools. He is a managing Equity Stewardship Consultant with The Core Collaborative. He is the co-author of Youth Equity Stewardship, Corwin Press, 2018, Separation Point – The Edge of Wildness, Laguna Wilderness press, 2021, Equity Stewardship – A Professional Learners Field Guide, Mimi and Todd Press, 2024, and Youth Equity Stewardship – Creating Intergenerational Partnerships Together, Mimi and Todd Press, 2024.
Patricia McDonald
Founder of Teaching Equity Network, Patricia McDonald (Tmac) is a culturally sustaining practitioner, consultant, educator, leader, and community member dedicated to dismantling the oppressive structure of traditional education—acting for a world where all students feel seen, valued, and listened to in their classrooms. Informed by 28 years in the classroom, Patricia champions learning communities and cultural responsiveness by engaging educators in critical conversations that deepen their knowledge of self and awareness of impact on educational environments.
Gary R. Howard
Gary R. Howard has more than 40 years of experience working with issues of civil rights, social justice, equity, education, and diversity, including 25 years as the Founder of the REACH Center for Multicultural Education. He is a keynote speaker, writer, and workshop leader who has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Australia. Mr. Howard completed his undergraduate work in Cultural Anthropology and Social Psychology at Yale University and did graduate work in ethics and social justice at Yale Divinity School. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at both Western Washington University and Seattle University. He is also the author of We Can’t Lead Where We Won’t Go: An Educator’s Guide to Equity.
Wade Antonio Colwell
Wade Antonio Colwell is an author, cultural advocate, educator, and restorative practitioner committed to building inclusive learning communities where every voice is valued. His work blends music, hip-hop culture, environmental advocacy, multilingual communication, and restorative practices to spark creativity and institutional uplift.He has served as Coordinator of Restorative Practices for Counseling in Schools (NYC), Education Director for Community for Youth (Seattle), and Curriculum Specialist for TUSD Mexican-American/Raza Studies, in addition to leading community engagement at the University of Arizona and consulting with Chicanos Por La Causa and Nosotros Inc. A graduate of Stanford University and the University of Arizona, Wade credits his parents, artist Catalina and musician Paul, for inspiring his lifelong passion for learning and creative expression.
Ready for more?
Bring Empowered Stewardship, the only multi-generational pathway that activates and sustains authentic partnerships between adults and students, to your school or system via professional learning at The Core Collaborative. Contact a learning expert to discuss a partnership and build a customized plan to meet your professional learning goals.
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