Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute (CRSLI)

What Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute (CRSLI) does

CRSLI is a privately held, U.S.-based educational professional development organization headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded and led by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, the most-cited scholar in educational leadership and administration. The company offers a tiered portfolio of equity-focused training and consulting services for K-12 school leaders and districts, anchored by the Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) Framework — a five-strand, research-backed methodology originally derived from Khalifa's 2018 Harvard Education Press book and updated via the 2024 Spencer Foundation literature review.

The product surface is organized as a sequenced engagement funnel: months-long equity audits for districts, foundational 2.5-day Legacy Academies ($2,000-$2,500 per seat), specialized academies co-developed with scholars (Genius & Joy with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad; Disrupting Equity Traps & Tropes with Dr. Jamila Dugan; CRSL for Special Education with Dr. Keith Mayes), a recurring Leading Responsively PLC Program subscription, keynote speaking services, and a free membership community (with EQUITYx webinars, podcast, newsletter, and downloadable tools). The technology stack is lean: a LearnWorlds-powered e-learning platform handles course delivery, member access, and community forums, with no proprietary technology or AI capabilities. Distribution is primarily direct sales to school districts, supplemented by self-serve academy registration and free community sign-ups.

Revenue is generated from a mix of one-time academy seat fees, months-long equity audit engagements, recurring PLC subscriptions, and keynote fees. GTM is event-driven, leveraging Dr. Khalifa's scholarly reputation, partner scholar relationships, and a national community network built through content marketing (podcast, blog, newsletter, webinars). The organization has six employees and operates with no disclosed external funding, making it a small, founder-led, expert-practitioner business model rather than a venture-backed scale play.

Name

Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute (CRSLI)

Legal name

Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute (CRSLI)

Website

https://crsli.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CRSLI is a St. Paul-based educational professional development organization founded by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa that delivers equity audits, leadership academies, PLC programs, and keynotes to K-12 school leaders and districts, built on the research-backed Culturally Responsive School Leadership Framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Academy Registration Fees: Revenue from 2.5-day intensive leadership academies offered both in-person and virtually. Pricing is per seat (per person). Academies feature different scholars and topics: Legacy Academy (with Dr. Muhammad Khalifa), Genius & Joy Academy (with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad), Disrupting Equity Traps & Tropes Academy (with Dr. Jamila Dugan), and CRSL for Special Education Academy (with Dr. Keith Mayes).
2. Equity Audit Services: Months-long comprehensive equity audit engagements for school districts and organizations. The audit identifies equity issues, analyzes policies/practices, and provides customized strategies and recommendations. Add-on services include demographic trend analysis, qualitative interviews, policy analysis, and curriculum analysis.
3. PLC Program: The Leading Responsively PLC Program provides ongoing support for leadership teams through structured, job-embedded learning. CRSLI provides curriculum, facilitator tools, and support. Four courses available: Historical & Community-Based Epistemologies, Leadership for Critical Reflection, Leading Inclusive Schools, and Humanizing Student Identities.
4. Keynote Speaking: Revenue from keynote speaking engagements by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa and other CRSL scholars. Fees vary based on engagement specifics. Virtual and in-person keynotes available.
5. Free Membership Community: Free community membership providing access to EQUITYx live events, downloadable tools, newsletter, and networking. Serves as a lead generation funnel for paid programs while providing value and building relationships with educational leaders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CRSLI delivers fee-based professional development for K-12 educational leaders, centered on its proprietary five-strand Culturally Responsive School Leadership Framework. Core paid offerings include multi-day academies (in-person and virtual), the Leading Responsively PLC Program (job-embedded team learning), months-long customized equity audits, and keynote speaking engagements. A free membership community, podcast, blog, newsletter, and webinars support ongoing practitioner engagement and act as a lead funnel for the paid portfolio.

Product overview

CRSLI offers a comprehensive suite of professional development products for educational equity, built around a multi-product ecosystem. The core offerings include Equity Audits (months-long comprehensive assessments of district equity issues), the CRSL Legacy Academy (foundational 2.5-day training on the Culturally Responsive School Leadership framework by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa), and the Genius & Joy Academy (focused on culturally and historically relevant curriculum using Dr. Gholdy Muhammad's Five Pursuits). The portfolio is extended through the Disrupting Equity Traps & Tropes Academy (featuring Dr. Jamila Dugan's Street Data approach) and the CRSL for Special Education Academy (featuring Dr. Keith Mayes' work on disability rights). The Leading Responsively PLC Program provides ongoing job-embedded support for leadership teams. These are supplemented by the free Membership Community offering webinars (EQUITYx), downloadable tools, a newsletter, and the Equity Unlocked Podcast. The CRSL Framework serves as the theoretical backbone, and the core book 'Culturally Responsive School Leadership' (Khalifa, 2018) provides foundational text. Additionally, a three-part legal briefs series addresses navigating DEIA policy. The organization operates a proprietary e-learning platform (powered by LearnWorlds) and offers keynote speaking services. The product architecture follows a tiered model: foundational academies launch the journey, the PLC Program sustains implementation, and the membership community provides continuous community and resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CRSL Framework: The Culturally Responsive School Leadership Framework - a researched-backed framework helping school districts start and sustain equity journeys with five strands: Critical Self-Reflective Leadership, Community Engaged Leadership, Inclusive School Culture and Climate, Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership, and Culturally Responsive District Leadership and Systems Change.
• Equity Unlocked Podcast
• Legacy Academy
• Genius & Joy Academy
• Leading Responsively PLC Program
• EQUITYx Series

Products and services

• Equity Audits Months-long, research-based equity audit engagement that identifies equity issues, analyzes trends, policies, practices, cultures, and gaps, and delivers customized strategies and recommendations for school districts and organizations. Add-on components include demographic trend analysis, qualitative interviews, policy analysis, and curriculum analysis.
• CRSL Legacy Academy Foundational 2.5-day transformational learning experience (in-person or virtual) featuring Dr. Muhammad Khalifa's original CRSL Framework, co-facilitated with Dr. Katie Pekel. Guides participants through uncovering historical oppression and developing core CRSL skills to disrupt inequitable systems. Includes prework (5–10 hours of scholarly and practical readings), active learning experiences, and job-embedded application guidance.
• Genius & Joy Academy 2.5-day online academy centered on Dr. Gholdy Muhammad's HILL Model and Five Pursuits (Identity, Skills, Criticality, Intellect, Joy). Empowers educational leaders to deepen instructional leadership and develop humanizing, culturally and historically responsive curriculum.
• Disrupting Equity Traps & Tropes Academy Academy featuring Dr. Jamila Dugan's Street Data approach, helping leaders uncover mindsets and systems that limit transformative leadership and redefine data as a humanizing, equity-centered tool.
• CRSL for Special Education Academy Academy featuring Dr. Keith Mayes' work on disability rights and the racialization of special education. Develops mindsets and skills to uncover and disrupt historical and systemic injustices in special education policies and practices.
• Leading Responsively PLC Program Job-embedded professional learning program for leadership teams to sustain, extend, and scale CRSL in their local context. Includes four structured courses (Historical & Community-Based Epistemologies; Leadership for Critical Reflection; Leading Inclusive Schools; Humanizing Student Identities), facilitator tools, CRSLI curriculum, and coach support. Teams enroll together and receive a physical kit plus online access.
• Keynote Speaking Services Keynote speaking engagements delivered by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa and other CRSL scholars for conferences, district events, and educational organizations. Combines research, theory, and practical action to inspire transformational equity work. Both virtual and in-person delivery; 2–4 month advance booking recommended.
• CRSL Framework Research-backed, five-strand framework for culturally responsive school leadership: (1) Critical Self-Reflective Leadership; (2) Community Engaged Leadership; (3) Inclusive School Culture and Climate; (4) Culturally Responsive Instructional Leadership; (5) Culturally Responsive District Leadership and Systems Change. Serves as the theoretical backbone for all CRSLI academies and programs.
• Culturally Responsive School Leadership (Book) Foundational text authored by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa, published by Harvard Education Press in 2018. Explores how school leaders can engage students, parents, teachers, and communities in ways that honor indigenous heritages and local cultural practices. Serves as the core reading for all CRSLI academies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of schools and thousands of leaders have engaged with CRSLI programs, with impact reaching tens of thousands of teachers, students, parents, and community members

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dr. Gholdy MuhammadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Gholdy Muhammad, author of 'Cultivating Genius' and 'Unearthing Joy', co-develops and co-facilitates the Genius & Joy Academy with CRSLI. This academy centers her Five Pursuits (Identity, Skills, Criticality, Intellect, Joy) for culturally and historically responsive education through a humanizing curriculum framework.
• Dr. Jamila DugancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Jamila Dugan, EdD, co-author of 'Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation', partners with CRSLI for the Disrupting Equity Traps & Tropes Academy. Her work helps leaders uncover mindsets and systems limiting transformative leadership and redefine data as a humanizing, equity-centered tool.
• Dr. Keith MayescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Keith Mayes, author of 'The Unteachables: Disability Rights and the Invention of Black Special Education', partners with CRSLI for the CRSL for Special Education Academy. The academy develops mindsets and skills to uncover and disrupt historical and systemic injustices in special education policies and practices.
• Dr. Katie PekelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Katie Pekel, Executive Director of Educational Leadership at the University of Minnesota, co-facilitates the CRSL Legacy Academy with Dr. Khalifa. Her expertise in applied leadership learning approaches complements Dr. Khalifa's original CRSL framework.
• Harvard Education PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard Education Press published Dr. Muhammad Khalifa's book 'Culturally Responsive School Leadership' (2018). CRSL is the core text for all CRSLI academies and serves as the foundational framework document.
• TEECH (Teaching for Equity, Empowerment and Community Healing)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTEECH is a nonprofit founded by Dr. Muhammad Khalifa with the mission to develop community-connected educators. TEECH bridges schools and communities by supporting educators to learn community-based ways of knowing and being, while offering collective care, coaching, and connection. CRSLI and TEECH collaborate on professional learning and community building.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Learning Forward: National professional development association for educators offering standards, training, and consulting for school leaders — the closest direct peer in K-12 leadership PD, though broader and less equity-specialized than CRSLI.
• TNTP (The New Teacher Project): National nonprofit focused on educator effectiveness and equity, offering PD, consulting, and district partnerships — comparable equity-centered mission and enterprise GTM to school systems.
• Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance): SPLC-affiliated initiative providing free equity-centered resources, PD frameworks, and training for K-12 educators — directly comparable content, audience, and mission.
• Facing History and Ourselves: Nonprofit providing equity-focused professional development, curricular resources, and training for educators centered on social justice — directly comparable mission and audience.
• National Equity Project: Equity-centered leadership development organization offering coaching, PD, and consulting for education leaders — closely comparable equity-leadership niche and consulting model.
• New Teacher Center: Nonprofit providing coaching, professional development, and equity-focused educator support to districts — directly comparable model combining PD delivery with consulting engagements.
• CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning — equity-adjacent PD organization serving K-12 leaders with frameworks, training, and district consulting, overlapping in audience and delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Edutopia: George Lucas Educational Foundation platform producing equity-and-evidence-based PD content for educators — overlapping thought-leadership content distribution model at much larger scale.
• WestEd: Nonprofit research and development organization providing equity, leadership, and school improvement consulting to districts — comparable consulting model at substantially larger scale.
• ASCD: Large established association for curriculum, supervision, and leadership development with much broader scope than CRSLI; competing for the same district PD budgets with deeper resources but less CRSL specialization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crsl-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute (CRSLI)