Beyond compliance: toward a justice-oriented leadership curriculum for marginalized youth in public schools

Purpose Traditional K–12 leadership programs often rely on compliance-based character-education curricula that emphasize behavior management rather than empowerment (Baker, 2024). Such approaches overlook the lived realities of poor and working-class youth of color and rarely provide opportunities for structural critique or civic engagement. K–12 leadership education should be reimagined through a “desire-based” framework – one that centers community knowledge, student advocacy, and structural critique (Tuck, 2009). To transform school culture, leadership development must affirm the humanity, resilience, and brilliance of marginalized students (Baker, 2024; Love, 2019). Design/methodology/approach This pedagogy paper presents an illustrative case of a justice-oriented leadership curriculum implemented in Clarke County, Georgia (2017–2023). Rather than positioning the course as a universal model, the manuscript offers a contextually grounded example of how justice-oriented, culturally sustaining leadership pedagogy can be enacted within a Title I public school setting. Drawing on activist and participatory pedagogies, the article details curriculum design decisions, classroom practices, and structural constraints to support leadership educators seeking adaptable approaches rather than prescriptive programs. Findings A 5-year, multisite youth mentor program in Athens, Georgia, included increased student agency, critical inquiry, and engagement across academic tracks, highlighting both the transformative potential and institutional challenges of situating leadership development within high-poverty schools. These programs are replicable and transformative in traditional public Title I schools. Research limitations/implications The article concludes with recommendations for educators seeking to move beyond character education toward humanizing, justice-oriented leadership curricula that affirm student brilliance and cultivate collective hope for school transformation. This article urges administrators and educators in Title 1 schools to forge partnerships between counseling and teaching staff, and to encourage and invest in local, ground-up leadership curriculum that addresses local and specific history and social ills that plague school communities and isolate and stigmatize youth. Practical implications Efffective grassroot educatorsin Athens, Georgia have moved beyond character education toward humanizing, justice-oriented leadership curricula that affirm student brilliance and cultivates collective hope for school transformation. Administrators and educators in Title 1 schools should forge partnerships between counseling and these teaching staff, and encourage and invest in local, ground-up leadership curriculum that addresses local and specific history and social ills that plague school communities and isolate and stigmatize youth. Originality/value Moving beyond empowerment, transformative opportunities in student leadership development will need to affirm other values than compliance. The author's use of activist pedagogies provides an interesting re-examination of conventional leadership development theories of action.