Professional Development > CRIL

Bring Culturally Responsive Instructional  Leadership to life in your setting.

Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership (CRIL) is a framework that describes how instructional leaders enact humanizing, community-responsive approaches to developing instructional conditions. Grounded in Dr. Muhammad Khalifa’s CRSL framework, CRIL is defined by six interrelated dimensions of practice that shape leadership dispositions, daily instructional leadership work, and relationships across schools and systems. Here you’ll find resources, tools, and professional learning opportunities to support CRIL implementation in your educational context.
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Stay in the Loop

Dr. Muhammad Khalifa's newest book, The Six Keys to Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership, will be released in February 2027, along with new resources and learning opportunities to support educators in putting the work into practice.

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Coming soon! Engage with Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership in multiple ways.

Whether you’re new to CRIL or deepening your practice, these resources and opportunities offer support for implementing culturally responsive instructional leadership in your context.

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Foundational Text

Purchase the CRIL Book

Deepen Practice

Host a CRIL Academy or Keynote

Gain Support

Explore CRIL Tools and Resources

CRIL Tools & Resources - Coming Soon in February 2027

CRIL resources are grounded in six interrelated dimensions of instructional leadership practice, including community knowledge and critical self-reflection, relationships, classroom context, curriculum, teacher growth, and assessment. Together, these resources support leaders in developing fluency across the full CRIL framework while adapting implementation to their local context. The following resources are coming soon.
DEEPEN UNDERSTANDING

CRIL Book Study Guide

The CRIL Book Study Guide is designed to support individual and collective engagement with the book, Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership. Grounded in the CRIL framework, the guide helps leaders examine key concepts, surface community knowledge, and connect theory to instructional leadership practice across school and system contexts.
Free PDF Version
A chapter-based discussion guide with essential reflection questions and prompts. Designed for individual study or team conversations.
Digital Version
An expanded digital guide with facilitation notes, application activities, and tools to support deeper dialogue and practice. 
Print Version
A professionally designed, spiral-bound version of the expanded digital paid study guide.
DRIVE IMPLEMENTATION

Strategic Planner

The CRIL Strategic Planner supports school and system leaders in moving from reflection to sustained, equity-centered action. Grounded in CRIL research, the planner provides a structured, multi-year approach to planning, implementing, and monitoring culturally responsive instructional leadership across schools and systems.
Free PDF Version
A concise starter planner that introduces the CRIL planning approach with a small set of planning tools and templates. 
Digital Version
The full planning resource with guided planning sections, implementation tools, and guidance across multiple phases of work. Available as a downloadable PDF.
Print Version
The full strategic planning resource, available as a beautifully designed, spiral-bound professionally printed planner. 
DEEPEN REFLECTION 

Critical Reflection Journal

The CRIL Critical Reflection Journal supports instructional leaders in engaging in ongoing critical self-reflection as a core leadership practice. Grounded in the CRIL framework, the journal offers structured prompts that center community knowledge and instructional decision-making, helping leaders reflect on practice and plan next steps in their local context.
Free PDF Version
A streamlined version of the journal with a select set of CRIL-aligned reflection prompts. Designed for individual use or team reflection.
Digital Version
An expanded digital journal with structured prompts and space for ongoing reflection. Available as a PDF download. 
Print Version
A spiral-bound print journal with expanded, chapter- and topic-based reflection prompts and ample space for written reflection.

CRIL Implementation Guides

Move from learning to implementation with step-by-step support for putting CRIL into practice.

The CRIL Implementation Guides are robust, practice-based learning experiences designed to help school and system leaders enact a core practice form the Six Keys of Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa. Each guide is aligned with a specific chapter of the book and breaks a complex area of practice into actionable steps, combining expert and practitioner videos, applied learning, facilitation guidance, and ready-to-use tools and templates. Leaders can use the guides independently or with teams to learn how to adapt and implement the core practice, and lead meaningful change across schools and school systems.