AUTHOR SELF-ARCHIVED COPY 1 University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Canada 2 Durham District School Board, Whitby, Ontario, Canada Corresponding Author: Laura Elizabeth Pinto, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 11 Simcoe Street North, P.O. Box 385, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada L1H 7L7. Email: laura.pinto@uoit.ca Inclusivity, Educators, and Non-Conformists Laura Elizabeth Pinto 1 and Andrea Pemberton 2 NOTE: This is an author self-archived copy – it is an earlier draft that contains errors and is not identical to the published version. Abstract This case calls attention to some of the biases that teachers and leaders in school settings may carry when working with students whose appearance goes against the norm. It presents the experience of Lee-Ann, a vice principal, as she negotiates a conflict between a student and teacher, and is confronted by Marc, a guidance counselor, who recognizes what he views as unjust treatment of a student. Lee-Ann’s position contains contradictions between her self-perception as a “caring, open- minded” educator, and her interactions with and perceptions of a non-conforming student. Keywords non-conformity, leadership, diversity, equity in education Case Narrative Lee-Ann grew up in Windsor, Ontario, and was recently appointed vice principal at Bayside Secondary School in the suburb of South Windsor, a predominantly White, middle-class community. Bayside was a mid-sized high school, with a student population of 800 and a faculty of 50. Nearly 91% of the Bayside’s student body identified as White and of European descent. Six percent of the school’s population identified as West Central Asian and Middle Eastern, while the remaining 2% identified as East Asian, and the remainder as “Other.” This breakdown represents a less diverse student population than that of the city at large, and the province (Statistics Canada, 2011, 2012). Like just about any North American high school, Bayside’s students reflected a myriad of youth sub-cultures and social groups, formed around mutual interests, and often signified by their appearance. Lee-Ann was familiar with sub-culture “labels” based on her principalship course readings (Cross & Fletcher, 2011) and noticed that today’s social groups were not that different from those when she was high school student in a near-by school. In her estimation, the majority of students AUTHOR SELF-ARCHIVED COPY Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, Vol. 19 Issue 2, pp. 52-61. 2016 DOI: 10.1177/1555458915616847