Description
Book SynopsisFailing schools have become the latest academic cottage industry, and they serve as lightning rods for the controversy that continues to surround the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Surprisingly, there are only a handful of books that address the topic of turning around failing schools and even fewer that provide a meaningful discussion on how individual schools should avoid failure from the outset.This book will help public school educatorsunderstand that turnaround efforts are based on sound leadership principles nothing more, nothing less.It also provides school leaders with the critical skills to turn around failing schools and, more importantly, prevent their schools from failing in the first place. Individual chapters address topics such as setting institutional priorities, establishing a positive school culture, improving communications, developing classroom leadership, putting the school on a sound financial footing, and using data to guide the school turnaround.In essence,
Trade ReviewEducation Disrupted: Strategies For Saving Our Failing Schools is a hands-on approach to turnaround leadership offering literature, vignettes and personal experiences to improve schools. Practitioners will find compelling ideas for leadership in any school setting. -- Dr. Rosemary Papa, Del and Jewell Lewis Endowed Chair and professor, Educational Leadership, Northern Arizona University
Skillfully combining the results of relevant, available research with the substantial professional experience of its authors, this book provides readers not only with practical advice on how to turn around failing schools but also with a deep understanding of the root causes of such failure. Leadership, it is argued, is the core issue in turning around failing schools, and the book offers an extended and detailed account of the leadership required for school turnaround. The book is a rich source of guidance for aspiring and incumbent school leaders and a valuable resource for leadership developers and trainers. -- Kenneth Leithwood, professor emeritus, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto
A powerful statement about possibilities for children too often left behind. An important guide for practitioners who must labor to make that hope palpable in schools. -- Joseph Murphy, Frank W. Mayborn chair & associate dean for special projects, Vanderbilt University's Peabody College
This book gives us courage that with energy, intelligence, and renewed faith in the mission of public education we can begin to turn around those schools which are not reaching their full public potential, even as the leaders in them can’t control all of the variables which will ultimately account for their success or failure. If nothing else, the book gives us renewed purpose for believing that leaders make a difference, and upon that everything else is anchored. -- Fenwick W. English, R. Wendell Eaves Sr. Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Table of ContentsForeword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Defining School Failure Chapter 2 The Phenomena of Failing Schools Chapter 3 Examining the Root Causes of School Failure Chapter 4 All Roads Lead to Successful School Leadership Chapter 5 Students Need Classroom Leadership, Not Classroom Management Chapter 6 The Art of Communicating a Turnaround Chapter 7 Creating a Successful School Culture Chapter 8 Turnaround Schools Need Financial Growth and Stability Chapter 9 Using Data as a Force Multiplier Chapter 10 Planning Strategically for Turnaround and Beyond Chapter 11 Creating a Model for Success Appendix A (An "Early Warning" Checklist) Appendix B (A "School Core Competencies" Checklist) Bibliography
