Organizing Schools for Improvement

Organizing Schools for Improvement
Author: Anthony S. Bryk
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2010-03-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0226078019

In 1988, the Chicago public school system decentralized, granting parents and communities significant resources and authority to reform their schools in dramatic ways. To track the effects of this bold experiment, the authors of Organizing Schools for Improvement collected a wealth of data on elementary schools in Chicago. Over a seven-year period they identified one hundred elementary schools that had substantially improved—and one hundred that had not. What did the successful schools do to accelerate student learning? The authors of this illuminating book identify a comprehensive set of practices and conditions that were key factors for improvement, including school leadership, the professional capacity of the faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate. In addition, they analyze the impact of social dynamics, including crime, critically examining the inextricable link between schools and their communities. Putting their data onto a more human scale, they also chronicle the stories of two neighboring schools with very different trajectories. The lessons gleaned from this groundbreaking study will be invaluable for anyone involved with urban education.

Aligning School Districts as PLCs

Aligning School Districts as PLCs
Author: Mark Van Clay
Publisher: Solution Tree Press
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2011-06-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1935543415

In order for a professional learning community to achieve its full potential, all levels districtwide must align with the three big ideas: ensuring a focus on learning, building a collaborative culture, and establishing a results orientation. This book breaks down the complex process of aligning the work of central office staff, building leadership, and teachers to increase student achievement.

School, Family, and Community Partnerships

School, Family, and Community Partnerships
Author: Joyce L. Epstein
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2018-07-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1483320014

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Districts on the Move

Districts on the Move
Author: Jay Westover
Publisher: Corwin
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2019-08-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1544387652

Building off the framework Fullan and Quinn introduced in the International best-seller Coherence The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems, Westover presents a roadmap to help district and school leaders navigate the journey of creating a coherent system of continuous improvement. Based on more than 15 years of successful partnerships with school districts, this book includes case studies of how districts progressed over time, leadership competencies shown to be critical factors for success, tools and rubrics for action planning and guiding implementation, and reflective questions for inquiring about the current state of district systems and practices and strategies for systemic improvements efforts. Readers will discover Benchmarks of Capacity that will serve as guideposts to • Create clarity of district goals and school priorities for student learning • Cultivate a culture of shared leadership and systemic collaboration • Develop collective expertise with a coherent instructional framework • Engage in evidence-based cycles of inquiry for continuous improvement Learn how to lead systemic improvement that builds capacity at the classroom, school and district levels.

The NEW School Rules

The NEW School Rules
Author: Anthony Kim
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-01-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1544323204

Actions to increase effectiveness of schools in a rapidly changing world Schools, in order to be nimble and stay relevant and impactful, need to abandon the rigid structures designed for less dynamic times. The NEW School Rules expands cutting-edge organizational design and modern management techniques into an operating system for empowering schools with the same agility and responsiveness so vital in the business world. 6 simple rules create a unified vision of responsiveness among educators Real life case studies illustrate responsive techniques implemented in a variety of educational demographics 15 experiments guide school and district leaders toward increased responsiveness in their faculty and staff