The step-by-step guide to defining your vision—and making it reality As a leader, it’s your job to look beyond the present and envision a brighter future for your school. Choosing the right path, however, can be a challenge. This inspirational resource is your guide. By following its one-of-a-kind iterative visioning process, you’ll sharpen your vision into a road map for transformative change—tailored to the needs of your learning community. Features include: Key strategies and tools for building a shared vision Practical implementation ideas Case studies from exemplary schools Common trends at the heart of impactful, positive change Thought-provoking vignettes Turn vision into reality, possibilities into plans, and create an environment that strengthens engagement, provides safe and nurturing learning opportunities, and produces students with the skills, knowledge, and disposition to be successful in life.

Leading with Vitality and Hope provides a practical resource for educators who want to move beyond the challenges schools are facing today. It both provides inspirational ideas from an impressive group of educational leaders and also practical ideas that you can take back to your local schools and communities for implementation. What is needed to move beyond the chaotic scenes we are continuing to face as schools reopen for in-person learning? The voices we hear from in Leading with Vitality and Hope suggest that we must first re-introduce a sense of vitality and hope. This can be done with mindfulness, visioning, and strategic leadership that attends to self-care, advocacy, and collective efficacy. Each of these themes is woven throughout case study scenarios presented by 20 leaders as they describe their vision, how they garnered support, and how their visions have set the stage for transformational change to enhance equity, reduce discrimination, alleviate trauma, and lead to greater well-being for students and staff in schools.

Already Ready For What Will Come - SEL For A Culture Of Care Is your school prepared to care for all of the students, staff, and families in your community? Sadly, your school might be the only point of care for many. Be already ready--Establish a compassionate cultural foundation for strong relationships and holistic skills to weather stress, trauma, and promote well-being for your entire school population. Help your school or district use available resources to create a compassionate culture of justice and care for all by leaning into this book’s approach to leadership and social emotional learning. Discover a collaborative visioning process to elevate compassion through dialogue, policies, and protocol. Readers will find: Practical strategies for working with parents and communities Activities for the whole school An implementation framework for elementary, middle, and high school Deeper understanding of trauma, ACEs, and mental health concerns Support for teachers’ mental health What not to do – practices that don’t work, and why In-depth case studies and vignettes Read this and usher in transformational and compassionate change that may be the difference in whatever today, tomorrow, or the next day may bring.

In chaotic times, a deep breath can bring calm to your classroom. As the pandemic recedes and the world gradually returns to “normal,” it’s more important than ever to make your classroom a place that supports mental health and improves overall wellness. With this practical, research-based guide, you’ll incorporate age- and grade-appropriate meditation, breathing, mindfulness, and secular yoga activities into your teaching, in ways that work for in-person as well as virtual and hybrid settings. Features include: Adaptations for special populations, including those who have experienced trauma Recommendations for family involvement in social emotional learning Guidance on self-care for teachers and school staff Data from successfully implemented programs Dozens of illustrations, QR codes, and reflective questions

Be the leader of a fresh, bold, enduring vision of education for your district or school. The future of learning has arrived, and it requires bold educational leadership and a dramatic redefinition of what it means to be a successful student today. Redefining Student Success invites you to lead this transformation with audacity. It engages leaders with the concepts and actions needed to reimagine schools, address inequities, and help today’s students develop the skills they need for personal, economic, and civic success. This vital guide supports transformative leadership with Concrete guidance on how to create a Portrait of a Graduate and Portrait of an Educator which will help ensure teachers have a unified vision for professional growth and student success. Reflection prompts that help you recognize your strengths, spark discussion among stakeholders, and identify next steps for inspired action. Compelling examples of students already engaged in creative, self-directed problem-solving around issues that matter to them and their communities, together with stories that illustrate how districts and schools have arrived at their own vision of what education must become. Companion guides to 21st century learning for parents and students available online. The time is now to reset educational outcomes, sync schools with the demands of 21st century society, and meet the needs of every learner, in every community.

Building change for the long game It’s natural to resist change – but when we fundamentally commit to putting our students first, we must also commit to make lasting changes in current practice. Can we lead individuals and school teams to embrace strategic effort and lasting growth despite challenging circumstances and inevitable resistance? For school leaders willing to change their behavior on behalf of their teams, the answer is Yes! This practical, thoughtful book builds on what we already know about change, invites reflection, and provides guidance to develop changes that will last. Readers will learn to: Organize and create conditions in which staff and students flourish Focus on phases of change and address the critical leadership practices that will simultaneously move change forward and address the kinds of resistance that may appear Apply two long-term stories of district change to their own particular contexts, so they can avoid mistakes and focus on strategies that work Create their own relationship-rich, personalized path for leading and managing change We can build more reliable and effective changes in schools by ensuring steady progress over time. Dig into this informative book to discover the what, how, and why of a holistic change architecture to move your teams toward impactful changes that will stand the test of time.

Failure is just one step on the path to success. Failure is not only a possibility for learners during these challenging times, but a productive, concrete way of gaining ground. How can parents and educators teach kids to turn failure into progress toward success? This revised edition of the beloved bestseller, Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight, has sensible answers, including both what to say and what not to say to truly help kids self-motivate and become independent, lifelong learners. Rich with fresh insights, this new edition offers a deeper understanding of how motivation works along with new, practical, research-driven strategies for spurring learners to thrive. It features: The latest research on motivation theory, persistence, self-regulation, grit, and a growth mindset in learners. An expanded focus on equity and culturally responsive approaches to ensure that all learners maximize their full potential. A new chapter on giftedness, an updated discussion guide, videos available via QR codes, and a robust companion website. Kids are bound to stumble and fall, but by capitalizing on knowledge and the latest research on motivation, we can equip them to stand up and move forward, pointing them on the route to success.

Modern fluencies provide a platform for authentic teaching, learning, and assessment While reading, writing, and arithmetic remain important, they are no longer enough. For learners to thrive, they must move beyond traditional literacies to modern fluencies—the unconscious mental processes that are learned, adapted, and applied in the context of real-world problems and challenges. In this book, the authors unpack the fluencies (solution, information, creativity, communication, collaboration, and global citizenship) to reflect the relentless social, cultural, and economic shifts of modern times. Practical resources are presented alongside: Authentic Unit Plan Exemplars for each fluency Assessment rubric examples Discussion questions Learners today must master an entirely different set of essential skills and knowledge needed to succeed than previous generations. This book provides a practical framework for integrating new fluencies into traditional curriculum.

The future of education centers empowered students in a global learning ecosystem. Despite decades of reform, the traditional borders of education—graduation, curriculum, classrooms, schools—have failed to deliver on the goals of excellence and equity. Despite massive societal changes, education remains controlled by an old mindset. It is time to change that limiting mindset and, more importantly, the ineffective practices in education. To truly serve all learners, future classrooms must remove the boundaries of learning and become student-centered, culturally responsive, and personalized—supportive and equitable environments where each student can direct their own learning and seek multiple pathways to skills and knowledge in a global learning ecosystem. This compelling call for transformative change offers all involved in education Evidence-based arguments that reveal the need to break the traditional borders that limit learning Strategies to personalize learning and remove the confinement of traditional pathways Examples from around the world to create equitable and student-centric learning environments Resources for creating a school learning environment that expands opportunities for personalized learning into the global learning ecosystem It is time to now imagine a different kind of learning, without borders, and to begin the shifts in practice that will result in personalized learning for all students.

Cultivate a Culture of Learning by Doing In Teacher Development Picture a world where teachers, equipped with the expertise to produce the best outcomes in every context, confidently and intentionally inquire, adapt, and change instruction based on student needs. Do you know how to get them there? Developing Teaching Expertise offers a proactive framework for teachers to work through iterative design cycles and understand how to make ‘what works best’ work in their unique classroom. Aligned to the varied components of teacher professional learning, this book supports the development of teaching expertise by: Exploring how specific design and leadership approaches can be integrated to form a useful framework for leading teacher professional learning Highlighting ways to navigate through complex educational environments Incorporating illustrative tools and vignettes, and real-life examples of results from different educational settings This book offers a deep exploration to lead and intentionally cultivate a culture of lifelong teacher learning.