As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.”   Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers.  Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges. Read more

With foreword by Richard DuFour and Rebecca DuFourTransforming School Culture provides a school improvement plan for leaders to overcome staff division, improve relationships, and transform toxic school cultures into healthy ones.Dr. Anthony Muhammad contends that in order to transform school culture, we must understand why teachers continue to hold on to models or beliefs contrary to those put forth by their school or district. He explores the human behavior, social conditions, and history that cause the underlying conflict among the four different types of teachers in a school.The second edition of this best-selling resource delivers powerful new insight into the four types of educators (Believers, Fundamentalists, Tweeners, and Survivors) and how school leaders can work with each group to create positive school culture. The book also includes Dr. Muhammad's latest research as well as a new chapter dedicated to answering frequently asked questions on culture and school leadership in education.How this new edition will help you create a positive school culture:Study the author's research and observations of 34 schools 11 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, and 9 high schools and how each school's staff supported or hindered student achievement.Consider the characteristics of positive school cultures and how your school's culture and climate may differ.Learn how laws such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and No Child Left Behind ( NCLB) impact teachers and school culture.Understand why teachers must work together to improve student performance.Obtain tips for creating a positive school culture and producing synergy.New in This Second Edition:An updated research base, including over 60 new referencesConnections to ESSA as well as reflections on NCLB's impact on educationAdditional insights into the four types of educatorsFurther guidance on what it takes to be a transformational leader and redirect Fundamentalists through communication, trust, capacity, and accountabilityA new chapter of frequently asked questions in regard to school culture, leadership, and the four types of educatorsContents: Introduction Chapter 1: From Status Quo to True Reform Chapter 2: The Framework of Modern School Culture Chapter 3: The Believers Chapter 4: The Tweeners Chapter 5: The Survivors Chapter 6: The Fundamentalists Chapter 7: "Drop Your Tools": A Lesson in Change and Our Best Chance at Eliminating Fundamentalism Chapter 8: Implications for Practice Chapter 9: Frequently Asked Questions Appendix: Study Design References and Resources Index Read more

Insights, ideas, and inspiration to keep student learning at the center of instructional coachingStudent-Centered Coaching is an evidence-based model of professional learning that focuses on student outcomes. Grounded in the latest research and over ten years of field experience, The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching introduces the philosophy and core practices for Student-Centered Coaching. Designed to accompany other books on Student-Centered Coaching, the authors provide a clear vision for how coaching can promote both teacher and student learning. Readers will find An emphasis on how coaching can be asset-based and focused on equityCurrent research in adult learning and professional developmentExamples of how to integrate curriculum into coaching cyclesAnecdotes that illustrate what Student-Centered Coaching looks like across grade levels and content areas Read more

Everyone knows American universities are more expensive and less impressive than ever. But no one has come up with a plan to fix them.   No one…  Until now.  Let Colleges Fail: The Promise of Creative Destruction in Higher Education is the hard-hitting instruction manual America needs in order to save its institutions of higher learning.   The solutions proposed herein are unorthodox. They’re stern. They’re tough.   To some, they might even sound utterly shocking.  But they’re bound to work.  Richard Vedder, Senior Fellow at Independent Institute and Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus at Ohio University, asks the forbidden question:  Why do we subsidize universities through taxpayer-provided grants and private donor gifts when the institutions are so obviously failing America’s youth?   How can we justify this special status, while businesses offering far more useful goods and services are punished by confiscatory taxes—for simply turning a well-deserved profit?   The history behind these questions is long, winding, and complicated.   But the solutions to our current crisis are not.  In fact, they’re as time-tested as the study of economics itself.   Vedder reminds Americans of the concept of “creative destruction” (famously introduced by economist Joseph Schumpeter)—the idea that, because markets threaten to reallocate resources from unproductive to productive uses by “creatively destroying” failing businesses, markets actually help failing businesses adapt to the market’s ever-changing needs and realities.   It’s sink or swim.   And in the face of necessity, most businesses—or at least, those worth their salt—learn, however painfully, to swim.   And if universities want to survive, says Vedder, they must learn to swim, too.   But because we have cushioned them from the demands, necessities, and realities of public life, American colleges are weak, woke, and unforgivably obtuse. Their eye-stretching price tag just adds insult to injury.   Read this book and discover:   what universities can—indeed, must—learn from the profit-making private sector; why big government needs to get out of the student loan business yesterday … and what will happen if it refuses to do so; why accreditation, though infrequently questioned or critiqued, might actually be unnecessary … or even bad; how privatizing state universities could actually open newer and more affordable finance options; what a healthy voucher/scholarship arrangement could look like; and much, much more …   Daring in its analysis, practical in its problem-solving, and thoroughly readable in its prose, Let Colleges Fail is indispensable reading for those who want America’s colleges to thrive once again. Read more

None

Case Studies in 21st Century School Administration: Addressing Challenges for Educational Leadership presents real problems that confront today′s school leaders who must deal with issues of diversity, school improvement, and limited resources. Authors David L. Gray and Agnes E. Smith give prospective school leaders opportunities to resolve complex issues in K-12 school settings through reflective questions, activities, and authentic assessment tools for skill development. Read more

ASCD bestseller! Baruti Kafele turns his attention to assistant principals in a book designed to spark reflection and clarify the influence of this often misunderstood role.You're an Assistant Principal. Whatever your status—the sole AP in your school, one of two or more APs in your school, a career AP, an AP aspiring to the principalship—yours is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized positions in education. Positioned between teachers and the principal, you are an instructional leader. However, you are not the leader of the school. Therefore, you must carefully navigate your way to ensure that you thrive in your role without "stepping on the toes" of your principal.In The Assistant Principal 50, award-winning, four-time principal Baruti Kafele presents reflective questions that encompass the breadth and depth of the assistant principalship—from finding your leadership "lane" to thriving and being an asset to your principal. Kafele infuses the book (which also includes guidance and insights for principals and aspiring assistant principals) from beginning to end with personal anecdotes and accounts of both failures and successes from his years as an assistant principal. He arms you with tools and insights that will drive you to view the assistant principalship as critical to the climate and culture of your school as well as to student achievement.You, assistant principal, play a critical role in your school's success. The questions that Kafele asks you to consider will aid you as you hone your leadership skills toward becoming an effective leader in your school. Read more

Build better schools by training better leaders A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership answers the question that district leaders have been asking across the country:  if Leverage Leadership is a roadmap for principals on how to lead great schools, what can principal managers and districts do to support them on that path?  A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership offers a step-by-step guide to coaching principals to the highest levels of achievement, and it is rooted in studying the most successful principal managers and districts across the country.  It can be used by principal managers/supervisors, superintendents, district and state leadership, and principal training organizations to accelerate the growth of principals in your community.  Used in conjunction with Leverage Leadership 2.0, this book identifies the key actions principal managers should take to create exceptional school leaders, integrating the seven levers of leadership into district culture from the principal manager on up. With a particular emphasis on the two “super-levers” of data-driven instruction and student culture, this book is packed with advice, professional development materials, and real-world videos of principal managers in action, offering principal managers a valuable resource for bringing about change.A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership introduces a new unifying approach that is also highlighted in Leverage Leadership 2.0: See It, Name It, Do It. It gives you the tools to See it (see models of effective practice and identify gaps), Name it (name concrete actions for improvement) and Do it (provide means to practice these action steps until a principal masters them)With A Principal Manager’s Guide to Leverage Leadership in hand, principal managers, superintendents and principal training organizations can facilitate district-wide and state-wide transformations and hasten the benefit to the students and community as a whole. Read more

This timely and essential book provides a comprehensive guide for school leaders who desire to engage their school communities in transformative systemic change. Sharon I. Radd, Gretchen Givens Generett, Mark Anthony Gooden, and George Theoharis offer five practices to increase educational equity and eliminate marginalization based on race, disability, socioeconomics, language, gender and sexual identity, and religion. For each dimension of diversity, the authors provide background information for understanding the current realities in schools and beyond, and they suggest "disruptive practices" to replace the status quo in order to achieve full inclusion and educational excellence for every child.Assuming that leadership to create equity is a unique practice, the book offers* Clear explanations of foundational terms and concepts, such as equity, systemic inequity, paradigms and cognitive dissonance, and privilege;* Specific recommendations for how to build support and sustainability by engaging colleagues and other stakeholders in constructive dialogues with multiple perspectives;* Detailed descriptions of routines and roles for building effective equity-leadership teams;* Guidelines and tools for performing an equity audit, including environmental scans;* A change framework to skillfully transform your system; and* Reflection activities for self-discovery, understanding, and personal and professional growth.A call to action that is both passionate and practical, Five Practices for Equity-Focused School Leadership is an indispensable roadmap for educators undertaking the journey toward an education system that acknowledges and advances the worth and potential of all students. Read more

Bridge the gap between good intentions and real resultsInstructional Leadership is one of the most researched and discussed leadership practices, but most school leaders don’t know where to begin or how to balance this role with all of their other responsibilities. Peter DeWitt’s Instructional Leadership provides practical tools for delivering lasting improvement through small, manageable changes over time. This step-by-step, how-to guide presents the six driving forces of instructional leadership―implementation, focus on learning, student engagement, instructional strategies, efficacy, and evaluation of impact―within an easy-to-follow, multi-stage implementation model. It also includes: ·         Practical strategies grounded in research·         "Entry point" sections highlighting the best places to start·         Help working with PLCs, faculty meetings, teacher observations, and walkthroughs·         Study questions  As a leader, you are the guide for your teachers, staff, and students. Let this book guide you to a vision of instructional leadership that really works. Read more

Imagine a school with a diverse student body where everyone feels safe and valued, and all—regardless of race, culture, home language, sexual orientation, gender identity, academic history, and individual challenges—have the opportunity to succeed with interesting classes, projects, and activities. In this school, teachers notice and meet individual instructional needs and foster a harmonious and supportive environment. All students feel empowered to learn, to grow, and to pursue their dreams.This is the school every student needs and deserves.In Building Equity, Dominique Smith, Nancy Frey, Ian Pumpian, and Douglas Fisher, colleagues at San Diego's innovative Health Sciences High & Middle College, introduce the Building Equity Taxonomy, a new model to clarify the structural and interpersonal components of an equitable and excellent schooling experience, and the Building Equity Review and Audit, survey-based tools to help school and teacher leaders uncover equity-related issues and organize their efforts to achievePhysical integrationSocial-emotional engagementOpportunity to learnInstructional excellenceBuilt on the authors' own experiences and those of hundreds of educators throughout the United States, this book is filled with examples of policy initiatives and practices that support high-quality, inclusive learning experiences and deliver education that meets critical standards of equality and equity. Read more

A proven, practical approach to teacher supervision, coaching, and evaluation that emphasize fairness, equity, and achievementIn the third edition of this longtime bestseller, nationally recognized education leader Kim Marshall offers a framework for supervisors who want to motivate and inspire their colleagues and bring more good teaching to more classrooms more of the time. Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation shows you how to break away from outdated evaluation approaches, describing an innovative approach that enlists teachers and teacher teams in improving the performance of all students. This thoroughly revised and updated third edition brings Marshall's widely used framework up to date, with even more practical guidelines for implementing effective classroom visits, teacher teamwork around data and curriculum unit planning, professional development, and more. You'll also discover high-tech and low-tech tools that can boost a supervisor's impact and efficiency. Discover the bestselling approach to teacher supervision, coaching, and evaluationImplement techniques to learn what's really going on inside classroomsImplement short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits followed by face-to-face conversations about teaching and learningUse rubrics to continuously improve teaching and learningFoster professional development with supervision and evaluation techniques that focus on improvement and motivationImprove time management, and the effective use of student-learning dataSince the publication of the first and second editions, Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation has been an invaluable resource for K-12 supervisors, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders, as well as trainers and policymakers. The third edition builds on a decade of additional research and work in schools around the world, bringing the ideas into alignment with the rapidly changing world of education, for a timely and beneficial approach to leading today's teachers. Read more

Transformational leaders have four distinctive skills: strong communication, the ability to build trust, the ability to increase the skills of those they lead, and a results orientation. Time for Change offers powerful guidance for those seeking to develop and strengthen the educational leadership skills needed for change management and overcoming resistance to change. Throughout this authoritative guide, Anthony Muhammad and Luis F. Cruz share concrete tools and strategies that will prepare you to lead your school toward lasting, meaningful, and strategic change.Use this educational leadership book to inspire a shared vision and help in overcoming resistance to change:Develop an understanding of educational leadership and change management as skills that can be practiced and improved.Consider three questions of transformational leadership (Why? Who? How?) and then Do!Learn about the technical and cultural dimensions of change and the ways in which both must be addressed.Understand the reasons behind resistance to change and how to manage it through effective leadership.Synthesize your skills as a school leader and utilize them to effect strategic change.Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Finding Balance for Systems Change Chapter 2: Communicating the Rationale -- Building Cognitive Investment Chapter 3: Establishing Trust -- Making an Emotional Investment Chapter 4: Building Capacity -- Making a Functional Investment Chapter 5: Getting Results -- Collecting the Return on Investment Chapter 6: Tying It All Together Afterword: Final Thoughts References and Resources Read more

Building a professional learning community (PLC) is not a journey taken alone. That's where the guiding coalition comes in. With clear, practical guidance, this resource examines every aspect of how to create, develop, and sustain this essential leadership team. Each chapter includes next steps, FAQs, and reflections carefully designed to help you overcome common roadblocks as you move from current practice to best practice.Define a guiding coalition and understand its importance.Learn basic PLC concepts and principles to inform guiding coalition processes.Understand the three basic school structures to ensure a proper PLC foundation.Form and maintain strong relationships that strengthen leadership.Implement levers to improve school culture and create effective, efficient leadership.Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Creating a Powerful Guiding Coalition Chapter 2: Leading the PLC Basics Chapter 3: Building a Solid PLC Foundation Chapter 4: Building Powerful Relationships Chapter 5: Promoting Collaborative Leadership Chapter 6: Leveraging Your Leadership Epilogue References and Resources Read more

The Change Leadership Group at the Harvard School of Education has, through its work with educators, developed a thoughtful approach to the transformation of schools in the face of increasing demands for accountability. This book brings the work of the Change Leadership Group to a broader audience, providing a framework to analyze the work of school change and exercises that guide educators through the development of their practice as agents of change. It exemplifies a new and powerful approach to leadership in schools. Read more

“Ishimaru’s book provides an imaginative and inspiring approach.” ―Teachers College Record“Full of practical steps that educators and administrators can and must take to build strong collaborations with families.” ―Mark R. Warren, University of Massachusetts BostonJust Schools examines the challenges and possibilities for building more equitable forms of collaboration among nondominant families, communities, and schools. This popular text explores how equitable collaboration entails ongoing processes that begin with families and communities, transform power, build reciprocity and agency, and foster collective capacity through collective inquiry. These processes offer promising possibilities for improving student learning, transforming educational systems, and developing robust partnerships that build on the resources, expertise, and cultural practices of nondominant families. Based on empirical research and inquiry-driven practice, this book describes core concepts and provides multiple examples of effective practices.Book Features:Broadens the dominant conception of leadership to include traditionally marginalized parents and communities as potential educational leaders.Explores partnerships from both a systemwide and in-school basis, with detailed portraits of what is possible.Translates theoretical principles at multiple scales: systemic, school, and individual practice.Shares studies focused on a broad range of contexts, strategies, and practices for enacting equitable collaboration with families. Read more

With all that we know about how students learn, the nature of the world they will face after graduation, and the educational inequities that have existed for centuries, maintaining a traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning is tantamount to instructional malpractice.International security, the success of global economies, and sustainability as a global society all depend on the success of our education system in the years to come. It’s our obligation to prepare our students for their future—not our past.Authors Eric C. Sheninger and Thomas C. Murray outline eight keys—each a piece of a puzzle for transforming the K–12 education system of teaching and learning—to intentionally design tomorrow’s schools so today’s learners are prepared for success . . . and stand ready to create new industries, find new cures, and solve world problems.The traditional model of schooling ultimately prepares students for the industrial model of the past. If we want our students to become successful citizens in a global society, we must dramatically shift to a more personal approach. Failure is not an option. We can no longer wait. Let Learning Transformed show you how you can be a part of the solution.The authors encourage you to use the hashtag #LT8Keys to continue the discussion online. Read more

The second edition of this textbook from respected author team Kaplan and Owings explores how principals can effectively build a culture around student achievement. Introduction to the Principalship, a second edition closely aligned with NELP (2018) standards, helps aspiring principals understand how to develop a vision for improvement, make decisions and manage conflict, build teachers’ capacity, communicate, monitor the organization’s performance, and create a school climate of mutual respect. This important book provides readers with various leadership concepts to inform their practice, as well as the cognitive and practical tools to evaluate and prioritize what leadership actions to take. Each chapter offers opportunities for readers to create personal meaning and explore new ways of doing leadership to advance a positive, person-focused environment. Providing both the theoretical framework and skills for effective practice, Introduction to the Principalship addresses the issues most urgent and relevant for educational leadership graduate students learning how to build a school culture that promotes every student’s success.Fully revised, this second edition includes a new chapter on building your capacity for leadership, expanded discussion of data-informed accountability, equity considerations, and crisis management, and all chapters updated and revised throughout to reflect the latest developments in the field.Special Features:Learning Objectives - chapter openers introduce the topic and initiate student thinkingReflections and Relevance - interactive exercises, role plays, class activities, and assignments that can be used synchronously and asynchronously to deepen and extend student learningKey Takeaways - organized by learning objective, these answer readers’ question, "What about this information is meaningful for me as an aspiring principal?"Suggested Readings - each chapter concludes with annotated suggested readings to extend and deepen discussion of key issues in chapterNELP Standards - each chapter is aligned to the latest school leadership licensure standardsCompanion Website - includes links to supplemental material, additional readings, video clips with related teaching and learning activities, and PowerPoints for instructors. Read more

School leadership is messy, but coaching conversations offer an opportunity to step back from the demands of everyday work and focus on developing leadership capabilities.Although every coaching conversation is personalized and every context is unique, many school leaders face similar issues. In Embracing MESSY Leadership, Alyssa Gallagher and Rosie Connor—directors of global educational leadership nonprofit BTS Spark—synthesize the experience gained from coaching more than 20,000 school leaders around the world and highlight the universal challenges.Here, the authors unpack the key traits and mindsets of the MESSY leadership model, which embraces the human side of school leadership and provides practical strategies and tools that strengthen leadership capabilities. Coaching conversations that encourage leaders to adopt these specific mindsets will make it easier for them to lead in a complex world:• Meaning Making: Create a shared vision and engage others by collaborating more effectively.• Emotional Connection: Build deeper, more trusting relationships to give feedback and hold difficult conversations.• Sensing the Future: Think creatively and tackle entrenched school improvement problems through experimentation and innovation.• Seizing Momentum: Be proactive, gain control of how you prioritize your time, and embrace new ways of working.• Your Presence: Build confidence by identifying the barriers that hold you back and learning how to overcome them.Intentional coaching conversations tap into the potential power of school leaders and develop them to their fullest. Let Embracing MESSY Leadership structure those conversations and create school leaders that matter. Read more

A Case Study Approach to Educational Leadership takes on six core areas of school leadership―organizational vision; curriculum, instruction, and assessment; school and external community; school climate and culture; equity; and improvement, innovation, and reform. Using a case learning approach, this volume introduces salient theoretical and empirical literature in each core area and provides illustrative cases designed for individual and group analysis. Written for aspiring educational leaders, this book facilitates the discussion and reflection of individual and collective professional judgment and helps developing leaders make sense of the challenges school leaders face today.Special Features:Featured Cases direct readers toward the issues of practice embedded within the theoretical content area Linkage to relevant Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) standards ground each chapter in the latest guidelines for the fieldDiscussion Questions foster reflection of content and practical applicationsLeadership Activities and Web-Based Resources support leaders in making further connections to practice Read more