Redefining Student Success


Book Description

Be the leader of a fresh, bold, enduring vision of education for your district or school. The future of learning has arrived, and it requires bold educational leadership and a dramatic redefinition of what it means to be a successful student today. Redefining Student Success invites you to lead this transformation with audacity. It engages leaders with the concepts and actions needed to reimagine schools, address inequities, and help today’s students develop the skills they need for personal, economic, and civic success. This vital guide supports transformative leadership with Concrete guidance on how to create a Portrait of a Graduate and Portrait of an Educator which will help ensure teachers have a unified vision for professional growth and student success. Reflection prompts that help you recognize your strengths, spark discussion among stakeholders, and identify next steps for inspired action. Compelling examples of students already engaged in creative, self-directed problem-solving around issues that matter to them and their communities, together with stories that illustrate how districts and schools have arrived at their own vision of what education must become. Companion guides to 21st century learning for parents and students available online. The time is now to reset educational outcomes, sync schools with the demands of 21st century society, and meet the needs of every learner, in every community.




Minority Serving Institutions


Book Description

There are over 20 million young people of color in the United States whose representation in STEM education pathways and in the STEM workforce is still far below their numbers in the general population. Their participation could help re-establish the United States' preeminence in STEM innovation and productivity, while also increasing the number of well-educated STEM workers. There are nearly 700 minority-serving institutions (MSIs) that provide pathways to STEM educational success and workforce readiness for millions of students of colorâ€"and do so in a mission-driven and intentional manner. They vary substantially in their origins, missions, student demographics, and levels of institutional selectivity. But in general, their service to the nation provides a gateway to higher education and the workforce, particularly for underrepresented students of color and those from low-income and first-generation to college backgrounds. The challenge for the nation is how to capitalize on the unique strengths and attributes of these institutions and to equip them with the resources, exceptional faculty talent, and vital infrastructure needed to educate and train an increasingly critical portion of current and future generations of scientists, engineers, and health professionals. Minority Serving Institutions examines the nation's MSIs and identifies promising programs and effective strategies that have the highest potential return on investment for the nation by increasing the quantity and quality MSI STEM graduates. This study also provides critical information and perspective about the importance of MSIs to other stakeholders in the nation's system of higher education and the organizations that support them.




School, Family, and Community Partnerships


Book Description

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.




Demonstrating Student Success


Book Description

This practical guide to outcomes-based assessment in student affairs is designed to help readers meet the growing demand for accountability and for demonstrating student learning. The authors offer a framework for implementing the assessment of student learning and development and pragmatic advice on the strategies most appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Beginning with a brief history of assessment, the book explains how to effectively engage in outcomes-based assessment, presents strategies for addressing the range of challenges and barriers student affairs practitioners are likely to face, addresses institutional, divisional, and departmental collaboration, and considers future developments in the assessment of student success. One feature of the book is its use of real case studies that both illustrate current best practices in student affairs assessment that illuminate theory and provide examples of application. The cases allow the authors to demonstrate that there are several approaches to evaluating student learning and development within student affairs; illustrating how practice may vary according to institutional type, institutional culture, and available resources. The authors explain how to set goals, write outcomes, describe the range of assessment methods available, discuss criteria for evaluating outcomes-based assessment, and provide steps and questions to consider in designing the reflection and institutional assessment processes, as well as how to effectively utilize and disseminate results. Their expert knowledge, tips, and insights will enable readers to implement outcomes-based assessment in ways that best meet the needs of their own unique campus environments.




Principal Matters


Book Description

Leadership is not easy. It requires motivation, action, and courage. Principal Matters is a great resource for motivation and practical strategies for principals or school leaders who want to invest in self-growth that leads to flourishing service, instead of burnout. William D. Parker offers insights from over twenty years of experience as an educator, and over ten years as a school administrator. You are invited to this one-on-one conversation to learn how to better understand your purpose, lead others, influence change, and successfully manage the challenges of school leadership. Whether you are an aspiring principal or leading your own building or district, you will find Principal Matters both inspiring and instructive. One reader called it, "Chicken Soup for the Principal's Soul!" Read ahead for insight into how to lead with courage, action, motivation, and teamwork! Here's some feedback from some others who recommend the book: "Will is a great storyteller, and his use of these connections makes this book easy to read but also memorable. His focus on 'purpose'-going beyond what you do in school-is something that all leaders should really consider if they are going to make a difference in both their professional and personal lives." -George Couros, Principal, founder of ConnectedPrincipals.com, and an Innovative Teaching, Learning and Leadership consultant "Will generously shares experiences from his personal and professional life to remind principals of the big picture as well as the small details that are essential to the success of our school communities...Being a school leader can be lonely work, as the role of principal is only truly understood by those who have served in the position. Mr. Parker has utilized his time occupying the principal's office to develop practical yet inspiring tips for administrators. I'm excited to politely steal many of his great ideas with my own students and staff this school year!" -Rachel Skerritt, Principal of Eastern Senior High School, a D.C. Public School. 2013 Principal Ambassador Fellow for the U.S. Department of Education "Will writes with passion, conviction and insight. This book will equip you with the tools you'll need to face the frustrations you're sure to encounter as an educator, while enabling to you find renewed purpose and meaning as you influence your students to be the best they can be." -Daniel Wong, author of The Happy Student "This book explains the why of school leadership, not just the how. If you want to understand the right motives for school leadership and the steps to being a successful principal, you should read, Principal Matters by William D. Parker." -Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus and Soup This book captures the essence of effective teamwork and leadership. A great read for school administrators!"-Annette Breaux, educator, co-author with Todd Whitaker of The Ten Minute Inservice




Parents and Teachers Working Together


Book Description

Whether you're an educator, CST member, administrator, or other educational professional, you share one thing in common: dealing with difficult parents and families. Every educator has experienced problematic, unproductive, and/or uncomfortable interactions with parents or families. Whether it be issues of defensiveness, noncompliance, the belief that his or her child "does no wrong," or just plain hostility, it can place an incredible stress on your job duties. Utilize this book to equip yourself with effective, practical tools geared to help productively tailor your interventions around the most common types of challenging parents and families.




Handbook on Family and Community Engagement


Book Description

Thirty-six of the best thinkers on family and community engagement were assembled to produce this Handbook, and they come to the task with varied backgrounds and lines of endeavor. Each could write volumes on the topics they address in the Handbook, and quite a few have. The authors tell us what they know in plain language, succinctly presented in short chapters with practical suggestions for states, districts, and schools. The vignettes in the Handbook give us vivid pictures of the real life of parents, teachers, and kids. In all, their portrayal is one of optimism and celebration of the goodness that encompasses the diversity of families, schools, and communities across our nation.







Radical Reimagining for Student Success in Higher Education


Book Description

Co-published with the Association for State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), which sponsored the project from which the book emerged.This book answers the question “What would your institution look like if students really mattered?” The authors argue that really putting student success at the center of attention will require a radical reimagining of higher education. Much of what is presented here is grounded in the findings of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU’s) Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY) initiative, which brought together 44 member institutions over a three-year period to identify and test programs, strategies, and tools aimed at improving retention rates for first-year students. The book makes a provocative set of arguments about what is possible if campuses radically reimagine their culture, practices, structures, and rules with the primary purpose of helping students succeed in college and beyond.




Leveraging Data for Student Success


Book Description

People providing services to schools, teachers, and students want to know whether these services are effective. With that knowledge, a project director can expand services that work well and adjust implementation of activities that are not working as expected. When finding that an innovative strategy benefits students, a project director might want to share that information with other service providers who could build upon that strategy. Some organizations that fund programs for students will want a report demonstrating the program’s success. Determining whether a program is effective requires expertise in data collection, study design, and analysis. Not all project directors have this expertise—they tend to be primarily focused on working with schools, teachers, and students to undertake program activities. Collecting and obtaining student-level data may not be a routine part of the program. This book provides an overview of the process for evaluating a program. It is not a detailed methodological text but focuses on awareness of the process. What do program directors need to know about data and data analysis to plan an evaluation or to communicate with an evaluator? Examples focus on supporting college and career readiness programs. Readers can apply these processes to other studies that include a data collection component.