Ongoing worldwide crises have imposed profound challenges on school leaders. Principals face increasing pressure to understand and address the multifaceted needs of their communities. However, traditional paradigms often isolate principals by emphasizing individualism, patriarchy, and management, thus maintaining separation between school leaders and the communities they serve. The principalship also contends with historical ties to colonial aspirations that sought to eradicate indigenous knowledge while seeking to assimilate and marginalize the fictive "other." Recent studies indicate school leaders seek guidance, including how their professional learning can be reimagined to challenge inequity in their schools substantively. Scholars propose theoretical frameworks to counter systemic educational barriers through "social justice leadership." Yet this term's parameters are the subject of ongoing academic discussions, with a lack of clarity in conceptualization and practical implementation. However, an emerging consensus emphasizes connections within critical school communities historically excluded in decision-making. This qualitative case study investigated principals' leadership practices used to connect their communities in shared leadership spaces to gather momentum toward needed change. It also explored principals' perspectives regarding their journey in developing collaborative leadership skills, including insights into their professional learning. Using a conceptual framework combining social justice leadership and critical adult learning theories, the study explored how collaborative practices emerge and develop in collective contexts through the leadership of veteran social justice principals who live in the communities they serve. Data collection involved principal interviews and meeting observations. Portraiture methodology captured nuanced leadership practices within these complex, under-researched settings. Major findings demonstrated that school leaders can enhance the participation of underrepresented families in school leadership, facilitate democratic processes for collective action, and foreground social justice issues using community-generated data to lead their schools authentically toward social justice through specific leadership actions. These findings emphasize the necessity for community-responsive leaders to adopt intentional strategies of solidarity, grounded in creative collaboration and mutual care, to nurture cultures of belonging for families not traditionally embraced by schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]