“This book helped our teachers rethink how we create space for student identity and agency. It is both inspiring and immediately usable.”
John SmithMelbourne
Consulting
Dr. Sawsan Jaber facilitates interactive, research-based workshops for educators, districts, universities, and professional organizations across the United States and internationally. Her workshops focus on equity-centered instruction, student voice, identity-affirming learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy. Through hands-on learning and reflective practice, she supports teams in building instructional approaches that meet the needs of all learners.
Case Studies & Consulting Partnerships
Through her consulting practice, Dr. Jaber has collaborated with schools, districts, and professional organizations to support identity-affirming instruction and equitable learning systems.
Supporting institutions in advancing curriculum, leadership, and inclusive learning.
Case Studies
Dr. Jaber has led consulting projects across the following key areas:
01
Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
BY DR. SAWSAN JABER
01
Centering Student Voice: Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
Case study featuring Dr. Sawsan Jaber
When Dr. Sawsan Jaber was invited to partner with a midwestern school district, leaders knew that students felt unseen, but they weren’t sure how to change the system. Suspensions were disproportionate, lessons rarely reflected students’ identities, and families of color reported feeling disconnected from the school community.
Rather than beginning with a pre-packaged program, Dr. Jaber started with listening — to students, families, and educators — and then co-constructed an equity-centered roadmap that honored local context while drawing on research-based practices.
Project Focus
This case study highlights how centering student voice and identity reshaped teaching, leadership, and culture across the district.
- Reframing equity as shared responsibility, not compliance
- Building systems for authentic student agency
- Aligning curriculum, assessment, and culture with community values
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
In the first phase, Dr. Jaber facilitated student focus groups, community listening circles, and classroom observations. Students shared stories of being misrepresented in curriculum, over-policed in classrooms, and rarely invited into meaningful decision-making.
These narratives became the foundation for a district-wide equity strategy anchored in four domains of student agency drawn from Pedagogies of Voice: Identity, Belonging, Inquiry, and Efficacy.
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
Identity
Curriculum audits and redesign ensured that Arab, Black, immigrant, and multilingual students could recognize their histories, cultures, and languages as sources of knowledge and pride.
Belonging
Advisory structures, affinity spaces, and restorative practices were introduced so that students experienced classrooms as communities, not just courses.
Inquiry
Project-based units invited students to investigate issues that mattered to them — from local housing inequities to global migration — and to connect learning to real-world action.
Efficacy
Leadership councils, feedback protocols, and co-created rubrics gave students concrete pathways to influence policy, instruction, and school climate.
Listening ≠ Liberation
Many districts collect feedback and call it “student voice.” Dr. Jaber’s approach insists that listening is only transformative when it leads to shared power and structural change.
Working alongside teachers, administrators, and students, she mapped where decisions were being made about students rather than with them. Together, they identified leverage points in curriculum, discipline policies, and professional learning where voice could move from symbolic to substantive.
Relational Trust
Decisions are built on authentic relationships with students, families, and staff — not assumptions or stereotypes
Shared Language
The community uses a common vocabulary for equity, identity, and harm so conversations are grounded rather than abstract.
Capacity Building
Changes reach beyond one classroom or one training and are written into policies, schedules, and resource allocation.
Sustainability
Adults receive sustained coaching and collaborative learning, not one-off workshops, so equity work is understood and owned.
02
Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
BY DR. SAWSAN JABER
01
Centering Student Voice: Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
Case study featuring Dr. Sawsan Jaber
When Dr. Sawsan Jaber was invited to partner with a midwestern school district, leaders knew that students felt unseen, but they weren’t sure how to change the system. Suspensions were disproportionate, lessons rarely reflected students’ identities, and families of color reported feeling disconnected from the school community.
Rather than beginning with a pre-packaged program, Dr. Jaber started with listening — to students, families, and educators — and then co-constructed an equity-centered roadmap that honored local context while drawing on research-based practices.
Project Focus
This case study highlights how centering student voice and identity reshaped teaching, leadership, and culture across the district.
- Reframing equity as shared responsibility, not compliance
- Building systems for authentic student agency
- Aligning curriculum, assessment, and culture with community values
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
In the first phase, Dr. Jaber facilitated student focus groups, community listening circles, and classroom observations. Students shared stories of being misrepresented in curriculum, over-policed in classrooms, and rarely invited into meaningful decision-making.
These narratives became the foundation for a district-wide equity strategy anchored in four domains of student agency drawn from Pedagogies of Voice: Identity, Belonging, Inquiry, and Efficacy.
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
Identity
Curriculum audits and redesign ensured that Arab, Black, immigrant, and multilingual students could recognize their histories, cultures, and languages as sources of knowledge and pride.
Belonging
Advisory structures, affinity spaces, and restorative practices were introduced so that students experienced classrooms as communities, not just courses.
Inquiry
Project-based units invited students to investigate issues that mattered to them — from local housing inequities to global migration — and to connect learning to real-world action.
Efficacy
Leadership councils, feedback protocols, and co-created rubrics gave students concrete pathways to influence policy, instruction, and school climate.
Listening ≠ Liberation
Many districts collect feedback and call it “student voice.” Dr. Jaber’s approach insists that listening is only transformative when it leads to shared power and structural change.
Working alongside teachers, administrators, and students, she mapped where decisions were being made about students rather than with them. Together, they identified leverage points in curriculum, discipline policies, and professional learning where voice could move from symbolic to substantive.
Relational Trust
Decisions are built on authentic relationships with students, families, and staff — not assumptions or stereotypes
Shared Language
The community uses a common vocabulary for equity, identity, and harm so conversations are grounded rather than abstract.
Capacity Building
Changes reach beyond one classroom or one training and are written into policies, schedules, and resource allocation.
Sustainability
Adults receive sustained coaching and collaborative learning, not one-off workshops, so equity work is understood and owned.
03
Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
BY DR. SAWSAN JABER
01
Centering Student Voice: Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
Case study featuring Dr. Sawsan Jaber
When Dr. Sawsan Jaber was invited to partner with a midwestern school district, leaders knew that students felt unseen, but they weren’t sure how to change the system. Suspensions were disproportionate, lessons rarely reflected students’ identities, and families of color reported feeling disconnected from the school community.
Rather than beginning with a pre-packaged program, Dr. Jaber started with listening — to students, families, and educators — and then co-constructed an equity-centered roadmap that honored local context while drawing on research-based practices.
Project Focus
This case study highlights how centering student voice and identity reshaped teaching, leadership, and culture across the district.
- Reframing equity as shared responsibility, not compliance
- Building systems for authentic student agency
- Aligning curriculum, assessment, and culture with community values
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
In the first phase, Dr. Jaber facilitated student focus groups, community listening circles, and classroom observations. Students shared stories of being misrepresented in curriculum, over-policed in classrooms, and rarely invited into meaningful decision-making.
These narratives became the foundation for a district-wide equity strategy anchored in four domains of student agency drawn from Pedagogies of Voice: Identity, Belonging, Inquiry, and Efficacy.
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
Identity
Curriculum audits and redesign ensured that Arab, Black, immigrant, and multilingual students could recognize their histories, cultures, and languages as sources of knowledge and pride.
Belonging
Advisory structures, affinity spaces, and restorative practices were introduced so that students experienced classrooms as communities, not just courses.
Inquiry
Project-based units invited students to investigate issues that mattered to them — from local housing inequities to global migration — and to connect learning to real-world action.
Efficacy
Leadership councils, feedback protocols, and co-created rubrics gave students concrete pathways to influence policy, instruction, and school climate.
Listening ≠ Liberation
Many districts collect feedback and call it “student voice.” Dr. Jaber’s approach insists that listening is only transformative when it leads to shared power and structural change.
Working alongside teachers, administrators, and students, she mapped where decisions were being made about students rather than with them. Together, they identified leverage points in curriculum, discipline policies, and professional learning where voice could move from symbolic to substantive.
Relational Trust
Decisions are built on authentic relationships with students, families, and staff — not assumptions or stereotypes
Shared Language
The community uses a common vocabulary for equity, identity, and harm so conversations are grounded rather than abstract.
Capacity Building
Changes reach beyond one classroom or one training and are written into policies, schedules, and resource allocation.
Sustainability
Adults receive sustained coaching and collaborative learning, not one-off workshops, so equity work is understood and owned.
Clients & Organizational Partnerships
Dr. Jaber has led consulting projects across the following key areas:
School districts across the United States
Professional learning and consulting on equity, identity, culturally responsive teaching, and curriculum design.
Universities & Colleges
Including Binghamton College, Morton College, Northern Illinois University, and Syracuse Public Schools (university–district professional development partnerships).
Educational Organizations & Networks
Including:
-
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) – Committee and Caucus leadership
-
Book Love Foundation – Advisory Board
-
International Science and Technology in Education Education – Leadership roles
-
Arab American Education Network – Founder
-
Our Voice Alliance – Board Member
State-Level & Policy Groups
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Teacher Advisory Group, Illinois State Board of Education
-
National Board Equity Standards Writing Committee
-
Google Technology Equity Framework – Advisor
Testimonials
Contact Us
Share your details below to request availability, speaking rates, or a customized session that meets your community’s needs.
01
Centering Student Voice: Transforming a District’s Approach to Equity
Case study featuring Dr. Sawsan Jaber
When Dr. Sawsan Jaber was invited to partner with a midwestern school district, leaders knew that students felt unseen, but they weren’t sure how to change the system. Suspensions were disproportionate, lessons rarely reflected students’ identities, and families of color reported feeling disconnected from the school community.
Rather than beginning with a pre-packaged program, Dr. Jaber started with listening — to students, families, and educators — and then co-constructed an equity-centered roadmap that honored local context while drawing on research-based practices.
Project Focus
This case study highlights how centering student voice and identity reshaped teaching, leadership, and culture across the district.
- Reframing equity as shared responsibility, not compliance
- Building systems for authentic student agency
- Aligning curriculum, assessment, and culture with community values
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
In the first phase, Dr. Jaber facilitated student focus groups, community listening circles, and classroom observations. Students shared stories of being misrepresented in curriculum, over-policed in classrooms, and rarely invited into meaningful decision-making.
These narratives became the foundation for a district-wide equity strategy anchored in four domains of student agency drawn from Pedagogies of Voice: Identity, Belonging, Inquiry, and Efficacy.
From Listening Sessions to Systemic Change
Identity
Curriculum audits and redesign ensured that Arab, Black, immigrant, and multilingual students could recognize their histories, cultures, and languages as sources of knowledge and pride.
Belonging
Advisory structures, affinity spaces, and restorative practices were introduced so that students experienced classrooms as communities, not just courses.
Inquiry
Project-based units invited students to investigate issues that mattered to them — from local housing inequities to global migration — and to connect learning to real-world action.
Efficacy
Leadership councils, feedback protocols, and co-created rubrics gave students concrete pathways to influence policy, instruction, and school climate.
Listening ≠ Liberation
Many districts collect feedback and call it “student voice.” Dr. Jaber’s approach insists that listening is only transformative when it leads to shared power and structural change.
Working alongside teachers, administrators, and students, she mapped where decisions were being made about students rather than with them. Together, they identified leverage points in curriculum, discipline policies, and professional learning where voice could move from symbolic to substantive.
Relational Trust
Decisions are built on authentic relationships with students, families, and staff — not assumptions or stereotypes
Shared Language
The community uses a common vocabulary for equity, identity, and harm so conversations are grounded rather than abstract.
Capacity Building
Changes reach beyond one classroom or one training and are written into policies, schedules, and resource allocation.
Sustainability
Adults receive sustained coaching and collaborative learning, not one-off workshops, so equity work is understood and owned.