PRESENTING SUPERB RESEARCH THAT ADVANCES THE FIELD OF EDUCATION
Cultivating Belonging by Design: The Q10 Way of Being
Leading with Intention, Teaching with Purpose, and Transforming Learning
- Publisher
Myers Education Press - ISBN 9781975509873
- Language English
- Pages 300 pp.
- Size 6" x 9"
- Request Exam Copy
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- Publisher
Myers Education Press - ISBN 9781975509880
- Language English
- Pages 300 pp.
- Size 6" x 9"
- Request E-Exam Copy
Cultivating Belonging by Design: The Q10 Way of Being; Leading with Intention, Teaching with Purpose, and Transforming Learning is an invitation to build schools where every learner truly belongs. Rooted in the Quantum Ten (Q10) Framework developed by Talisa Sullivan PhD, this book offers a powerful practical roadmap for educators and leaders ready to move beyond slogans and checklists into deep sustainable change. Written as both guide and companion, Cultivating Belonging by Design: The Q10 Way of Being walks readers through each Q10 element with clarity, courage, and heart.
Cultivating Belonging by Design: The Q10 Way of Being aspires to revolutionize educational best practices by offering a comprehensive guide to the intentional integration of the ten essential educational best practices—also known as the Q10 elements. These elements include Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Growth Mindset, Inclusive Practices, Culturally Responsive Practices, Restorative Practices, Universal Design for Learning, Response to Intervention, Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, Social-Emotional Learning, and Trauma-Informed Practices. This book aims to provide access, opportunity, engagement, and success to all learners.
Every chapter opens with an inspiring quote and a personal story, drawing readers into the real work of cultivating belonging. These narratives remind us that belonging is experienced in the daily lives of students, families, and educators. Chapters provide research informed background on a Q10 component, presented as parts of a coherent equity driven ecosystem. Readers see how these elements connect to create environments where every learner is seen challenged and supported. A Q10 Inquiry in every chapter invites readers to examine beliefs, policies, and habits through the lens of equity and belonging, helping individuals and teams surface assumptions, confront inequities, and imagine new possibilities. A Q10 Action offers concrete steps, real life examples, and strategies that can be adapted in schools and systems with space for reflection and planning.
Designed for use by teachers, principals, and system level leaders, Cultivating Belonging by Design: The Q10 Way of Being can anchor professional learning book studies and leadership retreats. The book provides common language, frameworks, and stories that help communities transition from inspiration to implementation. More than a collection of best practices, Cultivating Belonging by Design: The Q10 Way of Being is a call to reimagine what schools can be. For anyone who believes education can be a vehicle for healing liberation and generational transformation, this book offers both a vision and a roadmap inviting readers to build communities of true belonging: one inquiry, one action, and one courageous step at a time.
Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Teaching; Foundations of Education; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) in Education; Human Development and Learning in the Classroom; Educational Leadership and Change; Equity-Centered School Leadership; Organizational Culture and School Improvement; Alternative Education and Student Reengagement; Leading Culturally Responsive Schools; School-Community Relations and Family Engagement; Creating Inclusive Campus Climates and Belonging
Talisa Sullivan
Dr. Talisa Sullivan is a transformational leader with twenty-five years of experience serving K–12 schools, county offices, and universities across Southern California. Her journey has carried her through alternative and comprehensive schools, district and county systems, and higher education, with a focus on students and communities who have been historically marginalized. As a compassionate bilingual leader, she helps schools design learning environments where every learner is seen, valued, and supported. She has designed and facilitated large-scale professional learning, strengthened cross-agency partnerships, and helped shape countywide and statewide initiatives that center access, engagement, and achievement. Her work includes expanding college and career pathways, advancing Ethnic Studies, and integrating restorative practices, Social-Emotional Learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and trauma-informed approaches into school culture.
Dr. Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Teaching Credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills; a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from California State University, San Bernardino; and a PhD in Education with an emphasis in Urban Leadership from Claremont Graduate University. She has served as an adjunct professor, preparing future educators and leaders to approach teaching and leading as rigorous scholarship and deeply human work.
Grounded in the belief that all learners bring cultural, linguistic, and community assets, Dr. Sullivan insists that high expectations are paired with high support. She is the creator of the Quantum Ten (Q10) Framework, an integrated model that weaves together research-based educational practices into a coherent system expanding access, opportunity, and belonging. As a storyteller, keynote speaker, and writer, she invites educators to imagine education as a vehicle for healing, liberation, and generational transformation.