The go-to resource for school board members' greatest challenges! For districts striving to improve student academic performance, professional learning at all levels can make a crucial difference. This invaluable guide addresses the top challenges experienced by nearly every school board, and shows how professional learning can assist in overcoming these challenges and support positive changes. Two influential education leaders-and experienced board trustees-present an approach that helps school board members form their own professional learning community and become a stronger, more productive team. Aligned with Learning Forward's current Standards for Professional Learning (developed in collaboration with, and supported by, more than 18 national organizations, including the National School Boards Association), this resource enables board members to Learn from case studies focused on 12 critical board-level decisions, including hiring a new superintendent, resource allocation, compensation planning, and more Deepen your understanding of leadership and actions that advance school success and benefit the wider community Know when, where, and how to use professional learning to improve individual and systemic performance Benefit from best practices and tools developed to support effective decisions and successful implementation of major initiatives Turn to this resource to assist with your continuous improvement journey and achieve greater success for all schools! "School boards play a pivotal role in creating a climate of learning in a school system. This book offers practical advice to enable school boards to fulfill this critical aspect of their public leadership role. It is a road map for action and continuous improvement for every school board." -Thomas J. Gentzel, Executive Director National School Boards Association "This book is an excellent tool for the collaborative work of school boards and school personnel. The activities encourage the collaboration and conversation that support continuous improvement in education." -Lisa Casto, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development Allen ISD, TX
Common Core Mathematics in the 21st Century Classroom
This seminal text is like no other, successfully blending the best of what technology has to offer with guidelines for meeting the objectives set forth by the Common Core.
This shortcut to effective leadership has over 150 daily contemplations, inspiring quotes, references, and a new section on using best leadership practices to achieve results.
Help a culture of equity grow and thrive in your school! This second book in the groundbreaking Equity 101 series takes on culture: the cultures we come from as individuals and the culture we foster in our schools. With students and educators from so many different backgrounds, how do we create a school culture of equity in which everyone succeeds? Discover the actions teachers and administrators take to do just that. Using real-life success stories as models, you'll start Recognizing inadvertent cultural biases and increasing educators' cultural competency Overcoming institutionalized factors that limit achievement Implementing equitable practices that ensure individualized support for all students Featuring chapter-specific implementation exercises that take you from ideas to action, plus a dedicated online community with videos and discussion groups, this book is the next step on your path to true equity in your school! "Creating, nurturing, and sustaining an educational culture where individual differences are affirmed, and instruction is continuously tailored based on these differences, is essential to enhancing student achievement. This book is your practical how-to guide." -David Freitas, Professor Indiana University South Bend
Every child valued and empowered to learn-this book shows you how! This book is focused on a set of strategies that have a positive effect on student learning and attachment to schooling, in spite of real and powerful social inequalities. This evidence-based book is drawn from research showing that students from all backgrounds in identity safe classrooms learn better and like school more than their peers in other classrooms. In identity safe classrooms, teachers strive to ensure that students feel their identity is an asset rather than a barrier to success at school. Elementary teachers will learn the importance of teaching pro-social skills and cooperative learning in the context of high expectations and challenging curriculum. Use these strategies, rooted in social psychology research and child centered teaching practices, to build communities of learners in diverse classrooms. Invaluable teacher vignettes, reflective exercises, and practical advice make this comprehensive guide a must for creating an inclusive, academically challenging classroom where students come to understand the empowering message that who they are and what they think matters. "In this timely, engaging, and needed book, Steele and Cohn-Vargas describe creative and captivating ways in which teachers can construct identity safe classrooms where students from diverse racial, social, economic, and linguistic groups can learn and flourish." -James A. Banks, Professor, University of Washington Founding Director, Center for Multicultural Education "This timely and pragmatic book thoughtfully lays out a new vision of education with design principles for inclusive, respectful, and rigorous classroom environments that promote expansive and culturally validating forms of learning." -Kris D. Gutierrez, Professor of Learning Sciences and Literacy University of Colorado at Boulder "The authors combine their scholarship, experience, and wisdom in this amazing book. We all want to know: How can we help students enjoy school and become eager learners? Educators, read this book and find out!" -Carol Dweck, Professor Stanford University
A Five-Step Program for Reclaiming Time, Managing Stress, and Creating a Healthy Lifestyle
Boost teacher retention and help banish classroom burnout with this expert guide! This handy wellness guide helps busy teachers optimize their classroom effectiveness and breeze through stressful times. Custom crafted by an educator and a nurse who understand the stresses teachers face, this updated second edition offers a five-step program to help weary educators: Master the science of stress management Restructure professional and personal priorities Use technology for effective time management Understand and eliminate procrastination and perfectionism Use nutrition to support a healthy lifestyle Easily fit health-promoting exercises and yoga routines into their hectic schedules New research includes expert tools, tips, and examples for managing high-stakes CCSS, 21st Century Learning initiatives, and new technology requirements. Use this all-in-one guide to help teachers maintain high energy, boost morale, and increase productivity! "Dr. Queen is a visionary in the field of education and his work is a living example of his commitment to children and educators. For this educator, there is no more valuable tool to improve student outcomes than to give those who are in control of it-the educators in the building every day-the tools that they need in order to perform at a higher level and live longer, more productive lives." -Chris Lineberry, Principal Stanfield Elementary School, Arizona
Developmental Strategies for Building Capacity in Our Schools
This book help fosters an understanding of adult development that enables education leaders to support professional learning-or build capacity-across schools and districts with this one-of-a-kind resource. Based on adult developmental theory and filled with practical, actionable advice as well as takeaways, readers learn to: Design and implement action plans based on a learning-oriented model of school leadership and capacity building: Teaming, Providing Leadership Roles, Collegial Inquiry, and Mentoring Build robust and effective professional learning initiatives that increases student achievement Help leaders bridge theory and practice with first-hand case study analyses
The implementation of the Common Core standards is already in full-swing in many of the US public schools. Educators must be trained in how to teach to the new standards for ELA and mathematics, which were designed to be more rigorous and to better prepare students for college and the workplace. For teachers who work with the millions of English learners, the shift to the common standards is even more daunting. This reader-friendly book (and its companion volume for K-5 educators) provides clear guidance on how to make the standards accessible to ELLs and other at-risk learners. The book is grounded in the four ELA strands and the authors offer clear explanations of the expectations of the CCSS as well as a range of essential instructional strategies educators will need to implement when they work with the not so common learner.
Shift from trifling tasks to winning leadership strategies. Learn how to turn your school around with steps and stories from a turnaround principal who has been there.
