Pre-K- 12 Scholar in Residence Program

  • "Each of us must come to care about everyone else's children. We must recognize that the welfare of our children and grandchildren is intimately linked to the welfare of all other people's children. . . . The good life for our own children can be secured only if a good life is also secured for all other people's children."

    Lilian Katz

Our work co-creates school environments where more and more children and staff learn and thrive, and behave in ways that allow others to thrive.

Despite the best efforts of many educators, too many learners continue to struggle to learn and thrive in school.

Educators struggle to balance the ongoing demands of their work with emerging understandings about how to ensure that all students thrive, respond to school and community-specific challenges, and teach and lead in the context of fast-changing cultural contexts.

In response to these challenges, the ILI has developed the Scholar in Residence (SiR) model (previously known as the Equity Scholar in Residence). Click here to read the SiR position description.

The SiR model combines genuine relationships and learner-centered pedagogy with restorative approaches and responsive scholarship.

In practice, the program embeds a uniquely prepared, independent contractor — a Scholar in Residence — in a school or small district community.

With oversight from school leaders, the Scholar in Residence has a workspace in the school, attends staff meetings and school events, and works responsively with educators to support their efforts to address opportunities and challenges unique to their school community.

Some general responsibilities and tasks the SiR take on may be:

  • Collaborate with school and district leaders and staff workgroups to develop and implement initiatives, policies, and practices

  • Respond to teachers’ requests to identify and provide age-appropriate resources and effective practices for classroom instruction and management, and co-curricular activities

  • Serve as on-call resource and thought partner to school leaders, teachers, coaches, and counselors for incidents and patterns that disrupt thriving and inclusion (e.g. playground or hallway slurs, and identity-based distress or exclusion)

  • Partner with staff, school, and district leaders to develop and present professional development opportunities