Fully integrate your school's support community and watch achievement levels and morale soar! Many principals feel they lack the personnel necessary to raise student achievement to mandated levels. Yet, as school leaders seek to improve educational outcomes, one of the most underutilized groups remains student support professionals-the counselors, social workers, and nurses already on site. Karen Seashore Louis and Molly F. Gordon offer a practical approach to creating a fully integrated student support community that contributes to increasing achievement levels. Incorporating research and practical strategies into a broader paradigm of leadership, they offer directives for implementing reform initiatives and rigorously assessing their effectiveness. Bridging theory and practice, this book provides: An examination of emerging models linking student support programs and academic achievement Guidelines and resources for overcoming barriers to reform Exercises and suggestions to help start the change process Case studies of principals who have successfully integrated their student support services An expanded comprehensive support model (CSP) that considers the multi-professional nature of student support activities Reorganizing existing resources is the most efficient path to school reform. Rather than limiting the counselor or social worker's role, use it to form a comprehensive support program to help improve school achievement!
The most reputable sources of information right at your fingertips! There are abundant resources in the field of special education for professionals and parents of children with special needs. However, it can be a daunting task to navigate through this sea of organizations, Web sites, books, and other resources in order to find exactly what you need. Save time and take the guesswork out of your search for information and materials by turning to this definitive guide! Practical and easy to use, this ready-reference is borne out of extensive research and numerous interviews with parents and professionals to ensure selection of only the highest-caliber and most sought-after resources. Covering everything from federal agencies and professional organizations to IEP information and lesson plans, and providing extensive resources for all 50 states, The Big Book of Special Education Resources offers the most comprehensive collection of its kind. Features include: Contact information for and descriptions of dozens of clearinghouses and national disability organizations Thousands of pertinent toll-free numbers and Web sites for all areas of special education Reputable books, videos, and journals on specific topics in special education State-by-state directory of agencies, disability-specific organizations, and parent groups Additional comprehensive resource sections covering behavior issues, IDEA and IEP navigation, reputable sources of teaching strategies and materials, and more Save yourself hours of hassle and frustration by picking up The Big Book and putting the most up-to-date and reputable resources in every area of special education right at your fingertips!
Lessons to Prepare Your Students for Standardized Assessments and for Life
Enhance your students' writing skills and boost their scores on standardized writing tests! In today's high-stakes environment, standardized test scores not only gauge student performance, but are also linked to a school's status and the funding it receives. This helpful resource provides educators with a classroom-tested writing curriculum that has proven to boost student scores on standardized writing tests while helping them develop skills for lifelong writing success. The authors offer structured, day-to-day lesson plans linked to national standards; easy-to-use writing tools; and carefully crafted, unscripted lessons that cover a scope and follow a sequence that aims for student success. This curriculum is designed to help you: Become a confident writing teacher Prepare your students for all practical applications of writing Provide students with the analytical tools and skills they need to succeed on standardized writing tests Accommodate students' strengths and weaknesses Create confident readers and writers of your most reluctant students Your students need more than writing prompts and grammar lessons to ensure they will have lifelong writing success. Finally--a way for teachers to provide quality writing instruction that allows them to meet testing demands on time and with confidence!
Nuance, Challenge, and Technique for the Emerging Teacher
Find your footing and step into your future as a grounded teacher! "I put down the book feeling proud to be a teacher." -Sharon Elin, NBCT Chickahominy Middle School, Hanover County, VA "A book I will refer to often, as well as use for the teachers I mentor." -Patricia Eggers, NBCT Brown Deer School District, Glendale, WI "Offers intellect, relevant statistics, human examples, teacher stories, witty analogies, practical solutions, and most of all, hope for those at any point in their teaching career." -Sarah Earle, NBCT Hampton High School, VA Do you feel grounded at the "big desk" or are you still searching for your comfort zone? Join best-selling author Dominic Belmonte as he explores the essentials of instruction, curriculum, and classroom management. Using his trademark humor and encouraging style, and always keeping a clear-eyed focus on the rewards of teaching, the author discusses: 15 ways to master classroom pacing, tone, undertone, mood, and behavior 5 sample lessons using Socratic Seminar, inquiry science, Magic Math Box, and more Reflective approaches to important challenges, including high-stakes tests, bridging the achievement gap, and helping students deal with tragedy
"Letters to a Serious Education President provides sound advice for what it would take to provide all students in the United States with a high-quality education. There is wisdom and profound insights about how to improve public education in these letters, and of course, Sarason offers lots of common sense." -Pedro Noguera, Professor The Steinhardt School of Education, New York University "Letters to a Serious Education President underscores the brilliance of Sarason's observations about what is and continues to be missing in how we conceptualize and hence implement schooling in our society. . . . Indeed, Sarason is calling for a different education--one that enlivens the curiosity and lifelong learning of all children and their teachers." -Rhona Weinstein, Professor University of California, Berkeley In this new edition of his original insightful collection of letters to the first president of the 21st century, education luminary Seymour B. Sarason details how school reformers still have difficulty examining the differences between contexts of productive and unproductive learning. Originally written nearly 13 years ago, these letters are even more relevant in today's era of extreme mandates and accountability measures. It is in this context where Sarason's acute insight into why school reforms are failing that we must turn to the fundamental question of how we are teaching and supporting all students. Sarason's seemingly simple focus emphasizes that we must start with "what and where children are," inspiring and encouraging their natural curiosity for learning. Detailed within is coverage of An educational agenda beginning with children The need for both repair and prevention in education How classrooms extinguish curiosity Educator preparation program reform School downsizing Dropping out as a response to an uncaring school culture A critique of the No Child Left Behind Act, and more Sarason's analysis and powerful letters are packed with humor, common sense, practical advice, and recommendations for reaching students in today's classrooms. They distinguish between the typical rhetoric of educational change and the necessary actions that affect present and future generations of students.
`I would like to see this book become required reading for every teacher and administrator. Its simplified descriptions make it easily understood by non-technical people. I will make sure that all of my class read it' - Shirley Campbell, Director, Computer and Curriculum Inquiry Center, University of Pittsburgh, PA Windows on the Future is not a technical test per se, but one designed to help the teacher cope with the changes technology creates. It contains a number of ideas and strategies that will help the teacher more quickly accept and adopt new technology, so the they are able to adequately prepare students for success in the technology-rich world the students face.
This survival guide for primary teachers gives practical advice on the common questions all new teachers have. The author has addressed such issues as promoting positive behaviour, different learning styles, and grading and assessment, as well as paperwork, substitutes, volunteers, field trips, and communicating with both parents and administrators.
Enrich the quality of teaching and learning in your school with meaningful teacher evaluations! Effective teacher evaluation is at the core of improving the quality and value of education and principals bear the responsibility of implementing a teacher evaluation program that helps develop highly qualified teachers and promotes high academic standards. In their easy-to-use handbook, evaluation experts Kenneth D. Peterson and Catherine A. Peterson offer a fresh, innovative look into teacher evaluation methods, focusing on three central areas: 1) increasing the amount of objective data, 2) increasing teacher involvement, and 3) increasing the technical and sociological quality of the evaluation process. This excellent resource provides specific "how-to" methods to help principals: Use the best objective evidence available Put the teacher at the center of the process Use multiple data sources Use data sources which vary by individual teacher Incorporate student achievement data Inspire ongoing teacher reflection and analysis Use the specific strategies and best practices in this practical guide to help inspire quality teaching and high academic achievement!
Improving Comprehension Skills for Test Day--and Beyond
Empower your students to skillfully analyze and respond in writing to any comprehension question! Helping students comprehend what they read is a challenging goal, but even more daunting is teaching students to answer comprehension questions in writing. Based on the author's interactions with her students, this innovative text presents a five-step method that has proven not only to help students improve their literacy skills for standardized tests but also, and more important, to help them respond to what they read in your classroom and beyond. This resource presents a process that requires only two 30-minute sessions per week and can be used across content areas and grade levels. Using the built-in scaffolding, students quickly learn how to dismantle even the most challenging comprehension questions and respond to them in clear, sophisticated paragraphs. Numerous rubrics are included, empowering students to: Analyze and respond effectively in writing to comprehension questions Develop and enhance critical vocabulary skills Learn to assess their own work Recognize what constitutes powerful writing Enhance your students' ability and confidence to skillfully analyze and respond in writing to any comprehension question!
