Organizing Schools for Improvement


Book Description

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.




The New Teacher's Companion


Book Description

Advice for new teacher excellence, including guidance on classroom management.




Get Organized!


Book Description

In today’s world, we’re often overwhelmed by our digital devices, stacks of paper, and constant interruptions. Get Organized! outlines a complete organizational system for the busy school leader. Providing you with simple tools and techniques to bring order and control to your personal and professional life, this book will increase your productivity and decrease your stress. With Get Organized! you can spend your time on what matters most—your school and your students. Special Features: Includes easy to implement ideas, at little or no cost—you can start right away! Each chapter contains practical tips and tools, listing exactly what to do in order to implement the strategy. This entirely updated edition provides digital strategies and tips for thriving in the Information Age.




Organizing the Disorganized Child


Book Description

Organizing the Disorganized Child explains: How to solve the messy-backpack problem (page 28). Step-by-step tips to help your child improve study skills (page 96). Which school supplies work best for different types of children (page 26). Methods for note taking (page 99). Techniques for time management (page 72). Strategies to refine morning and nighttime routines that will help the entire family (page 128).







First Year Teacher's Survival Guide


Book Description

The best-selling First Year Teacher's Survival Kit gives new teachers a wide variety of tested strategies, activities, and tools for creating a positive and dynamic learning environment while meeting the challenges of each school day. Packed with valuable tips, the book helps new teachers with everything from becoming effective team players and connecting with students to handling behavior problems and working within diverse classrooms. The new edition is fully revised and updated to cover changes in the K-12 classroom over the past five years. Updates to the second edition include: • New ways teachers can meet the professional development requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act • Entirely new section on helping struggling readers, to address the declining literacy rate among today’s students • Expanded coverage of helpful technology solutions for the classroom • Expanded information on teaching English Language Learners • Greater coverage of the issues/challenges facing elementary teachers • More emphasis on how to reach and teach students of poverty • Updated study techniques that have proven successful with at-risk students • Tips on working effectively within a non-traditional school year schedule • The latest strategies for using graphic organizers • More emphasis on setting goals to help students to succeed • More information on intervening with students who are capable but choose not to work • Updated information on teachers’ rights and responsibilities regarding discipline issues • Fully revised Resources appendix including the latest educational Web sites and software




The Organized Child


Book Description

Are you sick of nagging your child to write down homework assignments? Is his or her backpack a black hole that eats up papers, books, and gym clothes? Organizational skills problems aren't just frustrating--they get in the way of school success and wreak havoc at home. Fortunately, help is at hand. This unique resource stands out from other books because it is based on a scientifically tested program that works. Learn how you can teach your 7- to 13-year-old specific skills to: *Organize school materials and toys. *Track assignments. *Improve time management and planning. *Overcome brain "Glitches"--mischievous creatures that trip kids up. *Create and follow effective routines. Concrete examples, tips for strategically using praise and rewards, and practical tools (you can download and print additional copies as needed) help you implement each step of the program. Maximizing your kid's potential starts now--here's how. Mental health professionals, see also the related intervention manual from Gallagher et al., Organizational Skills Training for Children with ADHD: An Empirically Supported Treatment.




Whole Novels for the Whole Class


Book Description

Work with students at all levels to help them read novels Whole Novels is a practical, field-tested guide to implementing a student-centered literature program that promotes critical thinking and literary understanding through the study of novels with middle school students. Rather than using novels simply to teach basic literacy skills and comprehension strategies, Whole Novels approaches literature as art. The book is fully aligned with the Common Core ELA Standards and offers tips for implementing whole novels in various contexts, including suggestions for teachers interested in trying out small steps in their classrooms first. Includes a powerful method for teaching literature, writing, and critical thinking to middle school students Shows how to use the Whole Novels approach in conjunction with other programs Includes video clips of the author using the techniques in her own classroom This resource will help teachers work with students of varying abilities in reading whole novels.







Community Organizing for Urban School Reform


Book Description

Observers of all political persuasions agree that our urban schools are in a state of crisis. Yet most efforts at school reform treat schools as isolated institutions, disconnected from the communities in which they are embedded and insulated from the political realities which surround them. Community Organizing for Urban School Reform tells the story of a radically different approach to educational change. Using a case study approach, Dennis Shirley describes how working-class parents, public school teachers, clergy, social workers, business partners, and a host of other engaged citizens have worked to improve education in inner-city schools. Their combined efforts are linked through the community organizations of the Industrial Areas Foundation, which have developed a network of over seventy "Alliance Schools" in poor and working-class neighborhoods throughout Texas. This deeply democratic struggle for school reform contains important lessons for all of the nation's urban areas. It provides a striking point of contrast to orthodox models of change and places the political empowerment of low-income parents at the heart of genuine school improvement and civic renewal.