Full Description
"Charles Elbot and David Fulton get it! They get how dominant a force a school's culture is in assisting—or thwarting—the development of learning and character and how extraordinarily difficult it is to make changes. Unlike most of us, they also get how possible it is to build a desirable school culture. This tidy little volume is the authors' first step in sharing their inventive 'lesson plans' from their successful work as school culture builders. When we take these lessons learned to heart, we too will get it!"
—Roland Barth, Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Education
Harvard University
Transform your school by shaping a culture based on shared values, beliefs, and behaviors.
Based on lessons learned from the authors' work in improving school culture for more than sixty schools across the country, this inspiring guide for school leaders helps create an "intentional school culture" that fosters excellence, builds character, and improves student achievement. The book provides tools, case studies, strategies, and implementation plans for building a strong school culture and offers guidelines for teacher trainings, principal workshops, staff meetings, and district-level use. The authors demonstrate how to:
Support students' independent and interdependent thinking and behavior
Foster ethical decision making
Collaborate with students, parents, and teachers
Evaluate and monitor a plan to enhance the existing school culture
The authors illustrate how deliberately shaping a school culture cultivates faculty trust, sets the groundwork for raising test scores, and is a critical ingredient in building a successful school.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Building an Intentional School Culture: Excellence in Academics and Character
The Importance of School Culture
Laneer Middle School: The Shaping of School Culture
Resource
2. The School Touchstone
Resources
3. The Four Mind-Set Model
Teachers and the Four Mind-Set Model
Students and the Four Mind-Set Model
Parents and the Four Mind-Set Model
Leadership and the Four Mind-Set Model
How to Use the Four Mind-Set Model
Resources
4. Introduction to the Eight Gateways
Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
Relationships
Problem Solving
Expectations, Trust, and Accountability
Voice
Physical Environment
Markers, Rituals, and Transitions
Leadership
Resources
5. Applying the Four Tools
Timeline: The First 36 Weeks (Year 1)
Timeline: The Second 36 Weeks (Year 2)
Pulling It All Together
Closing
References
Index
