In this volume, a team of national experts address the major elements key to system redesign and long-lasting reform, describing in detail the steps needed at the community, school, district and state-level by which to achieve long-lasting reform.

This guide to school transformation sends a wake-up call about the out-moded current school system. As educator and advocate during a sixty-year career, Wayne B. Jennings, PhD, writes in this revolutionary new text that our educational system remains stuck in the past. Jennings argues that the system should skip Band-Aid reforms and go for a full reboot! Jennings captures critical aspects of change. In School Transformation, he advances: · understanding the true purpose of education, · realizing we live in a new era, · seeing the fundamental flaws in the system, · bringing schools into the twenty-first century, · preparing students for an unknown future, · examining recent efforts to reform the system, · taking specific steps for transformation, and · considering examples of transformed schools. Jennings' experience as a teacher, principal, school board member, and university facility member energized him to start eight schools during his career. He believes community members, teachers, and students can respond to educational challenges and transform their schools. He describes specific steps and processes to follow and provides examples of transformed schools. He believes that transformed schools will make school an exciting, enriching experience for an entire generation of independent, innovative thinkers.

In the second edition of Leading Modern Learning, A Blueprint for Vision Driven Schools authors Jay McTighe and Greg Curtis offer the reader a fully rethought version of their blueprint for major education reform. More than a simple refresh, this new edition incorporates new insights, thinking, and experiences to refine approaches to, and tools for, implementing effective modern learning practices in a department, school, or district. With new Notes From the Field elements, McTighe and Curtis highlight key observations from their work with schools, including how to avoid potential missteps, misunderstandings, and time wasters that inhibit progress when implementing reform. .

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Eric Sheninger and Thomas Murray outline eight keys to intentionally design tomorrow's schools so today's learners are prepared for success.

While developmental responsiveness is a deservingly key emphasis of middle grades education, this emphasis has often been to the detriment of focusing on the cultural needs of young adolescents. This Handbook volume explores research relating to equity and culturally responsive practices when working with young adolescents. Middle school philosophy largely centers on young adolescents as a collective group. This lack of focus has great implications for young adolescents of marginalized identities including but not limited to those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQ youth, and those living in poverty. If middle level educators claim to advocate for young adolescents, we need to mainstream conversations about supporting all young adolescents of marginalized identities. It empowers researchers, educators, and even young adolescents to critically examine and understand the intersectionality of identities that historically influenced (and continue to affect) young adolescents and why educators might perceive marginalized youth in certain ways. It is for these reasons that researchers, teachers, and other key constituents involved in the education of young adolescents must devote themselves to the critical examination and understanding of the historical and current socio-cultural factors affecting all young adolescents. The chapters in this volume serve as a means to open an intentional and explicit space for providing a critical lens on early adolescence–a lens that understands that both developmental and cultural needs of young adolescents need to be emphasized to create a learning environment that supports every young adolescent learner.

The definitive guide to successful corporate transformation ?The framework Bob Miles illustrates in his new book has been the key tool Symantec has used to start the shift from being a technology-driven to a customer-driven company. Business leaders facing a variety of corporate transformation challenges will benefit from this important executive briefing.? -- Gordon E. Eubanks, Jr., chief executive officer, Symantec Corporation The distillation of a stellar twenty-year career, Leading Corporate Transformation is consultant Robert Miles's reply to executives who want to be able to rise to the most pervasive challenge facing them today: how to achieve fundamental transformation without exposing the organization to unacceptable risk. Here, in the form of an executive briefing, are the expert guidance and tools you need to meet a variety of corporate transformation challenges, whether you are trying to reposition a successful company, revitalize a failing one, merge different businesses and cultures, or manage a leadership succession process. These insights are relevant not only for senior executives, but also for managers at all levels of an organization undergoing fundamental transformation. If you are a leader who must effect organizational change, you will want to keep this book close at hand.

This book attempts to understand Najibnomics-economic policies advocated by the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, since he helmed office on April 3, 2009. Najibnomics refers to a new approach to Malaysia’s economic development which is typified by three main characteristics: knowledge, innovation and freedom. It is a set of strategies, programmes and measures meant to transform Malaysia into a high-income and developed nation by the year 2020. This book analyses Najibnomics in action, or rather attempts to problematise Najibnomics at the level of its implementation. Through Najibnomics, the Malaysian government strives to keep the momentum of a sustainable growth trajectory, to enhance the well-being of the rakyat (people) and ensure the country gets out of the “middle-income trap” to become a high-income and developed economy by the year 2020.

In the past decade, the number of students enrolled in private school choice programs has grown ten-fold. But granting students access to public financing for their private education has not led to the vibrant marketplace of school options many of its supporters envisioned. If school choice policy is to improve the American education landscape, careful thought must be put in to understand how it can expand existing high quality schools and create new high quality schools to serve more children. New and Better Schools attacks this problem from the perspective of both researchers and practitioners, documenting the hurdles entrepreneurial school leaders face and offering a way forward.