Teachers' Guide to School Turnarounds

by Daniel L. Duke, Pamela D. Tucker, Michael J. Salmonowicz

Overview

Most guides to the process of turning around low-performing schools are written for principals and policy makers. Teachers, however, are the individuals expected to conduct the “heavy lifting” of school improvement. Teachers’ Guide to School Improvement is the first book on the subject written expressly for teachers. In this expanded second edition, teachers are shown a step-by-step process for raising student achievement, beginning with the diagnosis of the causes of low achievement and extending through the crucial first year of turnaround and beyond. Examples of effective turnaround practices are drawn from a variety of elementary, middle, and high schools.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475807288
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/14/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	198
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Daniel L. Duke is a leading authority on the school turnaround process. In addition to conducting extensive research into the most effective strategies for improving low-performing schools, Duke has worked with more than 150 school systems and state agencies on the development of school improvement plans and turnaround leaders. He is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Virginia.

Pamela D. Tucker is a former special education teacher and school administrator who now is Professor of Educational Leadership and Program Director of the Educational Leadership Program at the University of Virginia. Tucker has written extensively on teacher evaluation and the school turnaround process.

Michael J. Salmonowicz has spent a decade studying school turnaround at the University of Virginia and the University of Chicago. A former public school teacher and administrator, he taught in Chicago’s first turnaround high school.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1: It Takes a Faculty to Turn around a School
Chapter 2: School Turnaround Is Not a Myth
Chapter 3: Why Are Some Schools Less Successful Than Other Schools?
Chapter 4: Inquiring into the Health of Your School
Chapter 5: Taking Stock: The First Step in the Planning Process
Chapter 6: Thinking Strategically about Turnaround Strategies
Chapter 7: The First Year of the School Turnaround Process
Chapter 8: Turning around a School with a New Faculty
Chapter 9: Keys to Sustaining a Successful School Turnaround
Chapter 10: Those Who Can, Teach; Those Who Can Teach, Change
Chapter 11: Turnaround Resources
Appendix A: Need for Change Assessment
Appendix B: Conditions Associated with Low Performance in Schools
Appendix C: Student Assessment of Learning Environment (SALE) Grades 3–12
Appendix D: First Steps: A Diagnostic Tool for School Turnaround Specialists
Appendix E: What Works and What Doesn’t Work with School Turnarounds?
Appendix F: Turnaround Tips Organized by Chapter
Appendix G: Turnaround Traps Organized by Chapter
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

School improvement is hard work, particularly in challenging contexts, and there are no silver-bullets or shortcuts. Written especially for teachers engaged in this vital work, and based on their extensive on-the-ground work in such schools, the authors provide a framework and lessons that are powerful, practical, and process-focused that can help guide you through the unique challenges of turning around your school. Anyone with a genuine interest in bringing about substantial improvement in their school should devour the clear and highly accessible insights offered in this book.

Scott C. Bauer

Even if not leading a turnaround, this book will enable school leaders to better diagnose school performance and give focus to their improvement efforts. In particular, the follow-up activities will help administrators to problem solve and fine tune current school initiatives.

Dr. Jeffrey D. Carroll

Is your faculty faced with the challenge of improving results for your students? Teacher's Guide to School Turnarounds is a sensible guide for school leaders and teachers that points you toward the questions that need to be asked before setting out on the journey of school improvement. It offers strategic options and useful tools you can employ to bring about meaningful change. Accessible and insightful, this book provides a practical means of leveraging the collective wisdom that exists in your school and its community to create a better future for your students.

Philip Hallinger

In this volume, professor Duke and his associates describe how the most needful schools can initiate and maintain the winning streaks needed to enhance the confidence and efficacy of both faculty and students, resulting in enhanced achievement...In short, turnaround schools...come to believe in themselves in this sense. Both struggling schools and struggling learners can find that sense of self-efficacy only if they have the opportunity to experience success at some level. The [authors] provide a roadmap to that success.

Rick Stiggins

Is your faculty faced with the challenge of improving results for your students? Teacher's Guide to School Turnarounds is a sensible guide for school leaders and teachers that points you toward the questions that need to be asked before setting out on the journey of school improvement. It offers strategic options and useful tools you can employ to bring about meaningful change. Accessible and insightful, this book provides a practical means of leveraging the collective wisdom that exists in your school and its community to create a better future for your students.

Dr. Philip Hallinger