Full Description
"The patterns described in these successful schools both validated and challenged my thinking. I can see opportunities for renewed emphasis in our district and much hope for continuing our progress with students."
—Nancy Skerritt, Assistant Superintendent
Tahoma School District, Maple Valley, WA
Transform your school with best leadership practices that sustain high student achievement year after year!
What are the key elements necessary for creating enduring student success? In the era of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and high-stakes accountability, district leaders, principals, and teachers need to develop core values and practices that will help schools not only meet learning goals, but sustain performance over time.
Sustaining Extraordinary Student Achievement presents "on-the-ground, walking-the-hallways" case studies and analyses of five Title I elementary schools that overcame a myriad of challenges, including high staff turnover and a high percentage of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, to achieve and maintain academic excellence. Drawing from interviews, vignettes, and site visits, the author shows how these schools succeeded through strategies that align with research on effective schools, such as:
Creating a school culture that emphasizes high standards and expectations
Nurturing collaboration and effective shared leadership
Using data to target instruction, intervene with students, and make decisions
Focusing on exemplary standards
Empowering staff to do their best work
Initiate meaningful change in your school with progressive practices and proven leadership strategies!
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Introduction
Selection of Five Title 1 Schools
Focus Areas for Structured Interviews
The Five Sustaining Schools
2. Sylvan Elementary School, Modesto, California: A Culture of Effective Instruction
Building a High-Achieving Culture
Sylvan's Non-Negotiable Core Values
Empowering Staff to Do Their Best Work
Using Student Data to Guide Curriculum and Instruction
Ongoing Improvement of Instruction
Strategic Intervention With Students
Sylvan's Sustaining Elements
Lessons Learned From Sylvan Elementary School
3. Camellia Elementary School, Sacramento, California: A Culture of Order and Discipline
Developing a Culture of Order and Discipline
The Right Staff Stays at the School
Using Student Data to Guide Curriculum and Instruction
The Role of the Leadership Team and Governance
Camellia's Non-Negotiable Core Values and Sustaining Elements
Lessons Learned From Camellia Elementary School
4. Jefferson Elementary School, Carlsbad, California: A Culture of Collaboration
Developing a Culture of Collaboration
Jefferson's Non-Negotiable Core Values
Using Benchmark Data to Target Instruction
Using Data to Intervene With Students
Jefferson's Sustaining Elements
Lessons Learned From Jefferson Elementary School
5. Rosita Elementary School, Garden Grove, California: A Culture of Clarity
Building a High-Achieving Culture
Empowering Staff to Do Their Best Work
Rosita's Non-Negotiable Core Values
Advice to Principals
Sustaining Processes at Rosita
Lessons Learned From Rosita Elementary School
6. Baldwin Elementary School, Alhambra, California: A Culture of High Expectations
Building a High-Achieving Culture
Baldwin's Non-Negotiable Core Values
Empowering the Right People
Mastery of Standards
Using Student Achievement Data
Baldwin's Sustaining Elements
Lessons Learned From Baldwin Elementary School
7. Five Schools That Got the Job Done
A Crisis Point Forces Change
Developing a High-Achieving Culture
Non-Negotiable Core Values
The Essential Sustaining Elements
A Final Word
References
Index
