In today's educational atmosphere of accountability, a results oriented process is necessary to achieve improvement goals. School Improvement: Revitalize Your School with Strategic Planning details a practical approach to bringing about positive changes in student achievement. You already have the tools to do the job. All you need is the guidance to put the process in motion and the leadership to carry it out. The strategic planning model detailed in this book involves a six steps process that includes: Identifying the purpose, mission, vision, and goals Collecting and analyzing data Writing the plan Implementing the plan Monitoring and evaluating progress Revising the plan Each phase of the strategic planning process is important, but to achieve the desired improvements, action plans are the crucial element to success. This process emphasizes the implementation of schoolwide action plans as well as detailed classroom action plans that are routinely monitored. By setting the stage with collaboration and communication, this process has the power to produce desired results in any school. This book has been written from the perspective of a building principal for other building principals and school leadership teams who are on the mission of school improvement.
We have entitled the fourth book in the series Rural School Turnaround and Reform: It’s Hard Work! Overall, the body of scholarly work and research that examines school turnaround and reform in rural areas is slim; as such, this volume adds to the body of work and contributes to new knowledge in a much-needed area. In this volume, we present chapters that speak to the challenges, successes, and opportunities to improve low-performing rural schools. Chapters range from conceptual arguments to policy analyses or research findings, as well as some combination of these or other ways to consider rural school turnaround and reform.
This is a thought-provoking book on the black-white academic achievement gap in Chicago’s predominantly black communities of color and what highly effective school boards can do to change it. In this book, the reader will be powerfully enlightened by a civil and human rights debate that calls for effective leadership in our schools, beginning with effective school boards. The primary agenda of effective school boards is raising student achievement performance levels and engaging the school district community to attain that goal. These instructive analyses of effective school board leadership builds on the research and wisdom of great leaders. Simultaneously, it develops a breath of fresh air for school reformers who seek to implement a new model and escape the insanity and pathology inherent in school board dysfunctions and violations of our civil and human rights which prevents progress in Chicago’s south suburban communities of color. In both highs and lows of awesome moments, as educational reform leaders and school board members, we are in a strategic leadership position to help school boards carry out their essential responsibilities for creating equity and excellence in public education. In doing so, highly effective school leaders can team with our school board leaders to lead our school district communities in preparing all students to succeed in a rapidly changing global society. School board members doing the same things over and over again and then expecting different results in academic outcomes is the definition for insanity. Education is freedom. In an era of mass educational apartheid with its consequent mass incarceration of blacks that has surpassed the enforced chattel bondage of slavery’s peak numbers in 1860, this book addresses a subject that is critically essential, timely, and in need of immediate attention for the security, success, and ultimate survival of black America. As the problems of the academic under-achievement gap is addressed in this book, it is also essential that school boards, educators, and community and national leaders accept reality, to view the problem in its true perspective, to contemplate it as it is, in providing essential solutions toward removing limiting and limited school boards’ dysfunctions, obstructions, and other barriers to academic achievement in effective school board leadership. Supporting educational excellence will thereby produce more African American scholars in mathematics, science, and in many other disciplines. This book will provide information and focus on some key action areas that successful school boards in America and around the world have focused their attention on: Vision, Standards, Assessment, Resource Alignment, Climate, Collaboration, and Continuous Academic Improvement.
Education in the 21st century is shifting focus from accessing and sharing information to designing active and collaborative learning environments which foster student engagement and critical thinking skills. Active learning features a hands-on, activity-based teaching approach during which students synthesize information and take joy in new discovery. The Handbook of Research on Learner-Centered Pedagogy in Teacher Education and Professional Development presents a comprehensive look into the methodologies and strategies necessary to establish classroom climates in which students feel free to question their preconceptions and express opinions. Featuring chapters from international researchers, this book is ideal for administrators, teachers, policy makers, and students of education.
This book describes the evolution of the community development sector over the past 50 years, and it presents a framework and road map for how community development organizations can advance their mission through strategic partnerships that utilize their core competencies. The authors describe the current community development ecosystem, define a range of essential community development competencies, and demonstrate, through seven case studies, how using comparative advantages built on core competencies can improve outcomes for communities. By recognizing and leading with their competencies and strengths, organizations can bring their specialized areas of expertise to address complex and interconnected community challenges, and effectively meet their missions and objectives.
