Description
Book SynopsisThese are tough times for schools. With the current accountability measures and economic instability, schools are finding it hard to keep up. They are being flipped upside-down, bent out of shape, and stretched to the limit. Although everyone is taking a real beating, it has also sparked a stirring opportunity for the simple-yet profound-leadership model called foundational leadership. Strong Schools, Strong Leaders was written for everyday practitioners aiming to create staffs capable of making their schools sparkle amidst the chaos. Not only does this book describe four essential foundational practices of the foundational leader, it also provides the reader with the specific processes to move each of them from theory to practice.
Trade ReviewWiseman has written this leadership book not from the ivory tower but from the practical perspective of a highly able practitioner. A must-read for those who lead! -- Lawrence Kemper, coauthor, The Politically Intelligent Leader
Strong Schools, Strong Leaders is filled with so many ideas that will advance collaboration in our schools today. Not only does Wiseman offer readers the all-so-important foundations to school leadership, but he also provides specific activities to bring each of them into fruition. This is really what has to happen before a true professional learning community can! -- Stephanie Cereceres, retired middle school principal, San Bernardino City Unified School District, CA
Finally, here is a book that understands the complexities of educational leadership today. In a step-by-step process, Wiseman outlines a realistic, plain-speaking approach to not only leading, but inspiring collaborative change in our schools. As a university president with a school of education, I only wish that we had had this book available for our educational leadership students. -- Sharon S. Caballero President, New Mexico Highlands Uni, president, New Mexico Highlands University
Educators thinking about starting professional learning communities or other collaborative groups will find Strong Schools, Strong Leaders a must-read. As someone with years of experience building teams and people, I found the tenets of the four key foundations contained in this book compelling. Those key foundations—listening to people, building agreements, cocreating purpose, and fostering effective teams—are the hallmark of today's successful leader. -- Bonita M. Drolet, coauthor, Building Teams, Building People, coauthor, Building Teams, Building People
What Perry Wiseman manages to achieve is a useful synthesis of multiple ideas and strategies, presented in a compact, readable form. He imparts his ideas clearly and backs them up with ample examples, which ably move the reader from theory into practice. This book contains information that would be of interest to any school administrator, regardless of length of tenure in that capacity. It would be especially valuable to a novice school leader or anyone needing an easily comprehensible roadmap for guiding and molding a fragmented school into a functional, unified community. * Journal of Educational Administration *
Table of Contents1 Dedication 2 Foreword by Dr. Thomas Harvey 3 Acknowledgements 4 Smart Schools and a Strong Foundation 5 Foundation #1: Listening to People and the Environment 6 Methods for "Listening": Creating Combined Wisdom in Schools 7 Foundation #2: Building Agreements 8 Methods for Building Productive Norms: Creating Common Values and Principles 9 Foundation #3: Co-Creating Purpose 10 Methods for Creating a United Purpose: Engaging Everyone in Deep Dialogue 11 Foundation #4: Fostering Effective Teams 12 Methods for Forming Successful Teams: Developing the Five Fast ID Elements 13 Becoming a Progressive Practitioner: Applying the Four Key Foundations 14 Final Thoughts 15 Bibliography 16 Index
