Bücher der Reihe Innovations in Education

This comprehensive model for school start-ups from the initial planning and opening of the school and through its initial growth is targeted at school leaders involved in the creation of charter schools, private schools, and other emerging educational entities. Here, the author presents specific tools and techniques to guide the school start-up and includes examples from educational and traditional entrepreneurs.

If you are looking for a book that provides concrete advice for establishing group reflection, then Talking Teaching is the perfect choice. The work is the product of a three-year grant-supported induction year program. College faculty from an associated group of colleges joined staff developers from a growing suburban district in creating an entire year's curriculum for beginning teachers. One component included monthly meetings of reflective practice groups including new and experienced teachers, a college professor, and usually, one district administrator. The group soon became aware of the need for collegial conversation in supporting teachers both new and experienced. Teachers were eager to share advice and offer support, and the reflective group process became an educational vehicle for making theory-to-practice connections. Will be of interest to principals, faculty/staff development coordinators, and teacher preparation faculty.

Has your school survived a major initiative only to be ambushed by another theory that demands that you rush full speed in the opposite direction? Have you been told that the fate of education depends on "the search for excellence," "equality", or assessment? Is your dream of the day that the consultants will go away and let you get back to work? The irony is that some of the management ideas and prescriptions really can reverse or renovate your school. The key is to determine which ideas belong in your hot file and which in your circular file. In Managers Make the Difference , author Darlene Leiding acknowledges that enormous problems outside schools do not mean that educators inside schools cannot do a better job at managing the learning environment. She designed the book to inform and assist those who wish to redefine problems so they can be solved. You will learn how to use creative problem solving to move from a challenge to creative action. Management can help schools learn how to minimize duplication and increase accountability. With this book, Leiding delivers practical methods you can immediately apply to help you become more creative and to nurture the creativity in the people who work for you. Issues include: Energy savings, The new accountability, Good board/bad board, Standards for school leaders, Staying afloat, Angry parents, Who is teaching our children, and The monster media. In today's educational world we need to achieve significant results at a much faster pace than at any other time in history. Managers, as well as parents, teachers, and students must come together to make a difference.

A discussion of teacher-ownership. It demonstrates how being an owner rather than an employee can give teachers control of their professional activity, including full responsibility and accountability for creating and sustaining learning communities. Examples and practical models are included.