Chapter 11: Building a Purposefully Inclusive Future for Latinas in School Leadership: Una Jornada Continua de Esperanza, Lucha y Triunfo

Dime con quién andas, y te diré quién eres. Most Spanish speakers have heard this dicho at one point or another in their lives. Often, it’s at the insistence of our mamá or abuela, who share this bit of wisdom because they want to ensure that we surround ourselves with people who are reputable, honest, and worthy of our love and attention. They also know that others will judge us, whether we like it or not, by the company we keep. Which is why we begin this concluding chapter with this phrase; to reflect the purposeful intent of this book and our decision to join forces as Latina scholars in educational leadership who are committed to supporting, developing, and centering the lived experiences of Latina school leaders in research and practice. While we began as acquaintances in this process, our relationship as co-editors has blossomed into so much more; we’ve become amigas, comadres, hermanas, and members of our scholarly familias. We purposefully chose to keep each other’s company with this dicho in mind, knowing we wanted to invite and be in company with other scholars and practitioners with a similar commitment to Latina school leaders. At the same time, our co-editorship has been a journey, one filled with hope, some challenges, and many triumphs. In this way, our journey can be characterized in many of the same ways that the Latina leaders in this book described their own professional journeys; one in which they maintained hope in working collaboratively with and for their communities and drew upon their cultural, linguistic, familial and navigational assets in the face of adversity. Thus, we found it fitting to present this concluding chapter as a journey that begins and ends with hope…