Creating an Award-Winning School: Outside the Box Thinking for Inside-the- School Success, is the result of collaboration between the authors and practicing and retired administrators.The book is written for new and experienced school administrators, college level instructors, and leaders in the private sector. The authors designed the Principals’ Professional Pyramid to serve as the foundation for the book. Creating the Pyramid and adapting the steps from the study of Steven Covey’s Principle-Centered Leadership, the authors arranged the tasks of administration into five major steps. The steps are ONESELF, OTHERS, ORGANIZATION, and OPERATIONS and OUTREACH. The authors developed these steps because they felt that a principal should begin with ONESELF before dealing successfully with OTHERS. Once organization is implemented, then the principal can deal with the continued OPERATIONS of all the school. OUTREACH into a professional network is a necessity for the success of a building leader.Embedded in the book are suggestions of Outside the Box Thinking or practical ideas to enhance the day-to-day operations of the building leader. Field techniques, forms, charts, diagrams, and reflections offered by the authors. These have been used to support the topics and enhance the content for the reader.

Does your school culture have the power to evoke TEARS OF JOY? Cultivate an AWARD WINNING CULTURE! Building whole child intentionality and action through kindness, empathy, and service will reshape, reimagine, and reinvigorate your educational sphere. In Award Winning Culture, Hans Appel beautifully lays out a school-wide framework with which to redefine our everyday actions that leave learners feeling empowered, valued, and passionate about life. His heartfelt stories punctuate the impact that social emotional learning and leadership development have through Character, Excellence, and Community. As you read this book you will learn... How to implement and support the "soft skills" that are critical for students' future success. How to infuse relevant social emotional learning and character education into project based experiential moments. What it takes to create a daily climate of joyful learners armed and ready to make the world a better place. How to apply intentionality to improve the engagement, connection and relationships for all stakeholders. Today's learners need more than just academic content. They need an educational experience rooted deep in purpose and relevance. Award Winning Culture is an exceptional roadmap to support educators' quest to teach kids what matters most.

"It was 2005, and I was sitting in a large ballroom with over a thousand other music educators in the convention center for the Music Educators National Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when we were told that music education was in crisis. Student enrollment in music classes like band, choir, and orchestra were dropping at an alarming rate nation-wide. Music educators were going to lose their jobs if they could not figure out ways to attract students into their classrooms. The message was clear: we needed to start considering all types of alternatives such as guitar, music technology, Mariachi, blue grass, rock band, song writing, music theory, hand bells-any type of music class that would attract students and save jobs"--

Learn successful practices from the "best of the best" to become an exemplary secondary school principal! Using recent survey results from 34 award-winning NCLB blue-ribbon secondary principals across the nation, author Sandra Harris examines over 100 of their best field-based practices to help school leaders everywhere succeed in making their schools the best that they can be. The chapters in this unique collection are organized around six themes to help secondary school principals learn from their peers successful strategies centered on leadership, shaping campus culture, communicating for collaboration, curriculum and instruction, school improvement plans, and personalizing the learning environment. Aspiring, new, and veteran secondary principals will benefit from: Descriptions of best practices and ideas for implementing them Recommended reading list for effective principals Reflection and insight from successful principals Additional resources to further extend best practices This invaluable resource covers the most current research, ideas, and strategies to help secondary principals become exemplary school leaders and create a thriving school environment

This comprehensive book takes the reader through the necessary steps to develop user buy-in and assistance in creating a learner-driven library program. The result? A unique, exemplary school library program that is eligible for national awards. Creating an award-winning school library program involves more than simply following the guidelines and standards available that describe what an exemplary program should accomplish. Effecting the changes necessary is often a process that presents multiple challenges along the way—especially when there is insufficient buy-in to the changes. This updated second edition of Seven Steps to An Award Winning School Library Program begins with a description of an existing model school library program and then describes steps that emphasize how to develop user buy-in and assistance in achieving the results of a learner-driven library program. In addition to providing descriptions of detailed actions to perform, advice on working with staff, and background information on change theory, this book also includes practical documents, diagrams, processes, workshop ideas, lesson plans, and tips when filling out applications for awards.

What does it feel like to walk into your school? Is it a welcoming place, where everyone feels valued? Most school improvement efforts focus on academic goals, instructional models, curriculum, and assessments. But sometimes what can make or break your learning community are the intangibles--the relationships, identity, and connections that make up its culture. Authors Fisher, Frey, and Pumpian believe that no school improvement effort will be effective unless school culture is addressed. They identify five pillars that are critical to building a culture of achievement: 1. Welcome: Imagine if all staff members in your school considered it their job to make every student, parent, and visitor feel noticed, welcomed, and valued. 2. Do no harm: Your school rules should be tools for teaching students to become the moral and ethical citizens you expect them to be. 3. Choice words: When the language students hear helps them tell a story about themselves that is one of possibility and potential, students perform in ways that are consistent with that belief. 4. It's never too late to learn: Can you push students to go beyond the minimum needed to get by, to discover what they are capable of achieving? 5. Best school in the universe: Is your school the best place to teach and learn? The best place to work? Drawing on their years of experience in the classroom, the authors explain how these pillars support good teaching and learning. In addition, they provide 19 action research tools that will help you create a culture of achievement, so that your school or classroom is the best it can be. After reading this book, you'll see why culture makes the difference between a school that enables success for all students and a school that merely houses those students during the school day.

When faced with danger you must DO something. The teacher at the Ant Hill School wants her students to be prepared - for everything! One day, she teaches her students what to do if a "dangerous someone" is in their school. "I'll be your shepherd, and you're all my sheep, so you must do what I say. Pretend there's a wolf in our building, and we MUST stay out of his way!" "We need a great plan of action in case we start to get scared. The ALICE Plan will work the best, to help us be prepared." Unfortunately, in the world we now live in, we must ask the essential question: What are the options for survival if we find ourselves in a violent intruder event? I'm Not Scared...I'm Prepared! will enhance the ALICE concepts and make them applicable to children of all ages in a non-fearful way. By using this book, children can develop a better understanding of what needs to be done if they ever encounter a "dangerous someone."

Use the wisdom of your award-winning peers to achieve leadership excellence! Which practices set award-winning principals apart from their equally hard-working peers? Using survey results and contributions from 35 award-winning elementary school principals nationwide, this essential text examines over 100 field-based practices recognized as the best for the elementary school principalship. Organized around seven themes ranging from leadership to collaborating and communicating to school improvement plans, this enlightening collection provides unparalleled advice and wisdom from the "best of the best." Aspiring, new, and veteran elementary school principals and assistant principals will benefit from: Comprehensive suggested readings and words of wisdom from award-winning principals across a variety of school settings Reflection and insight from practiced leaders Proven best practices and suggestions for how they can be implemented Ideas for how to engage in self-reflection and school study Gain insight into the best practices of your award-winning peers and learn to elevate your leadership to excellence with this invaluable resource.

Essays by popular children's authors reveal the books that shaped their personal and literary lives, explaining how the stories they loved influenced them creatively, politically, and intellectually.

KICK-START YOUR CAREER WITH THE RIGHT ON-CAMPUS EXPERIENCE! When it comes to getting the most out of college, the experiences you have outside the classroom are just as important as what you study. Colleges That Create Futures looks beyond the usual “best of” college lists to highlight 50 schools that empower students to discover practical, real-world applications for their talents and interests. The schools in this book feature distinctive research, internship, and hands-on learning programs—all the info you need to help find a college where you can parlay your passion into a successful post-college career. Inside, You'll Find: • In-depth profiles covering career services, internship support, student group activity, alumni satisfaction, noteworthy facilities and programs, and more • Candid assessments of each school’s academics from students, current faculty, and alumni • Unique hands-on learning opportunities for students across majors • Testimonials on career prep from alumni in business, education, law, and much more *************************** What makes Colleges That Create Futures important? You've seen the headlines—lately the news has been full of horror stories about how the college educational system has failed many recent grads who leave school with huge debt, no job prospects, and no experience in the working world. Colleges That Create Futures identifies schools that don't fall into this trap but instead prepare students for successful careers! How are the colleges selected? Schools are selected based on survey results on career services, grad school matriculation, internship support, student group and government activity, alumni activity and salaries, and noteworthy facilities and programs.