From At-Risk to Academic Excellence: Instructional Leaders Speak Out Book

Acknowledgments v Meet the Authors ix Foreword 11 Part I Setting a New Focus 1
1 A New Reality 3 Who Will Teach Our Kids? 6 A New Population of Students 6 New Responsibilities Require New Qualifications 7 School Leaders Are Made, Not Born 10 Chapter Summary 11
2 Who Is At Risk and Why 13 Individual Risk Factors 15 Family Background and Cohesion 16 School Experience 17 Peer and Psychological Characteristics 18 Individual Risk Factors Only Take Us So Far 19 A Better Focus for Schools 20 Climate and Culture 20 School Connectedness 21 School Safety 22 Attendance 22 Academic Achievement 23 Conclusion 24 Chapter Summary 24
3 Defining the Focus: Practitioners Speak 25 Learning From Success 27 How We Identified Schools 27 How We Measured Success 27 Student Learning 28 School Improvement 28 Staff Empowerment 29 Family Involvement 30 School-Community Collaboration 30 Chapter Summary 31 Part II Focus on What Really Matters 33
4 Student Learning and Achievement 35 Start With the Physical Setting 37 Encourage the Bold Reach 38 Establish Innovative Programs 40 Embrace the Data 41 Provide Informed Support 41 Use Assessment as a Guide 43 Maximize Mentoring and Tutoring 44 Reduce Class Size 45 Choose Technology for the Steak, Not the Sizzle 45 Model the Expected 46 Teach Time Management 46 Promote Clubs, Teams, and Groups 46 Enrich Learning 47 Provide Structure 47 Chapter Summary 49
5 School Improvement 51 A Culture of Change 54 Resistance to Change 55 Improve the Adults 59 Professional Development 61 National Staff Development Council Standards for Staff Development 62 Context Standards 62 Process Standards 64 Content Standards 67 Strategic Planning 69 Vision and Mission 69 ChapterSummary 73
6 Staff Empowerment 75 Listen to Each Other 78 Include the Staff in Making Decisions 79 Build Collaboration 80 Support Teaching and Learning 81 Make Classroom Management Matter 82 Protect the Principal's Golden Hour 83 Maximize the Teacher's Day 84 Practice What You Preach 86 Power Up the School 87 Encourage Deadwood to Float Away 89 Chapter Summary 90
7 Parent and Family Involvement 91 Parents as Partners 93 Communicate, Communicate, Communicate 95 Homework: More Harm Than Good? 97 Buttresses and Bridges 97 Chapter Summary 98
8 School-Community Collaboration 99 Authentic Collaboration: A Testament to Effectiveness 104 Keep the Conversations Positive 105 Open the School to Community Events 106 Contribute to the Community 107 Chapter Summary 107
9 Prioritization 109 It All Starts with Self-Assessment 111 Shared Leadership, Stronger Results 112 Road Maps for Change 113 Chapter Summary 114 Part III Conclusion: If We Had Our Way 115
10 The Road Ahead 117 Great Expectations 119 Preparing Future School Leaders 120 A New Direction 120
11 The Road Map to Improvement 123 Building Improvement into the School 125 Highlight the Supportive Role of Leadership 125 Practice Classroom Intervisitation 125 Maximize Faculty Meetings 126 Boost Grade-Level and Department Meetings 126 Focus on Internal Staff Development 126 Value Highly Qualified and Highly Effective Teachers 126 Guarantee Sufficient Time for Training 126 Make Schools Student Friendly 127 Building Improvement Into the System 127 Align Our System 127 Share the Responsibility 128 Eliminate the At-Risk Curriculum 128 Enhance Accountability and Assessment 128 Put Standardized Tests in Perspective 128 Choose Leaders From Within the Field 129 Consider Spending More Money 129
12 A Dream, a Plan 131 Our Plan for Leadership Development 134 Appendix I Nationwide Survey Questions 137 Appendix II Survey Participants 139 Appendix III Alabama's Torchbearer Schools: A Beacon of Hope 143 Torchbearer Schools Principal Survey 145 Torchbearer Schools: Shared Core Values 147 Autonomy 148 Goals 148 Faculty 149 Leadership 149 Assessment and Achievement 150 Culture and Climate 151 Conclusion 152 Resources 155