While most educators believe working in teams is valuable, not all team efforts lead to instructional improvement. Through richly detailed case studies The Power of Teacher Teams demonstrates how schools can transform their teams into more effective learning communities that foster teacher leadership. The benefits of successful teacher teams include: improved performance for both teachers and students; meaningful professional development; group adoption of a new curriculum; shared insights into student work; better classroom management; support for new teachers; new roles for teacher leaders; and opportuniteis for mentor support.School leaders will find guidelines, methods, and concrete steps for building and sustaining effective teacher teams. Also included is a DVD with video case studies and one CD with reproducibles. The most important reason for building teacher teams is to enhance student learning through improved instruction, and that story is at the heart of this book.

"Ready-to-use templates and clear instructions make this material user-friendly and clear. Especially helpful is the cross-reference matrix showing how a strategy can be used in more than one area." —William Osman, President New Jersey Staff Development Council "An excellent introduction integrates the five ′theaters of the mind′ in a brief and coherent way." —Christelle Estrada, Director of Professional Development Services Salt Lake City School District, UT A comprehensive set of tools for achieving lasting results and sustaining a professional learning community! Sustaining results-oriented team efforts is hard work, and achieving diversified solutions to complex issues over time requires commitment and creativity. To support the momentum of learning communities, Teacher Teams That Get Results: 61 Strategies for Sustaining and Renewing Professional Learning Communities provides an illustrated collection of ready-to-use tools and examples of plans in action for results-oriented faculty and staff. Focusing on the where, what, why, how, and when to use each of the 61 strategies, best-selling authors Gayle H. Gregory and Lin Kuzmich offer the tools your team needs to succeed. You will learn to: Create and sustain a growth-oriented climate that encourages feedback and builds trust Share knowledge and skills to expand and optimize results Build resilience, develop creative solutions, and manage change Determine priorities and create excellence when goal setting, tying data to practice, and analyzing results An indispensable guide for teachers, teacher leaders, and school administrators, this handbook is ideal for school and district staff serving as meeting and workshop leaders and facilitators.

For years, Kim Marshall and Jenn David-Lang have been considered "designated readers," curating ideas and research for busy frontline educators. Kim's weekly Marshall Memo summarizes the best articles from more than sixty magazines and journals.

"Student success and well-being are the goals of all school staff, whether they are teachers or human services professionals such as counselors, psychologists, or social workers. Building Great Mental Health Professional-Teacher Teams examines how all educators can work together for maximum positive impact on students while making the most of the disciplinary orientation and strengths of each team member. With a focus on overcoming challenging situations and helping students who face adverse childhood experiences, this book provides a sound overview of many issues teams may encounter, from behavior issues to poverty and trauma, and guides readers to a thorough understanding of these problems, their causes, and potential solutions. Providing practical advice for the strategic implementation of action plans to support student success, Building Great Human Services Professional-Teacher Teams informs readers how to navigate inter-group tensions and achieve the shared goal of a school culture that fosters respect, involvement, and growth for all"--

Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.

Teacher leadership holds great promise for improving the quality of teaching and ensuring student success. But for co-performance of leadership to be effective, teachers and principals need to lead in sync.Leadership coach Jill Harrison Berg guides educators through the process of creating a shared vision for student success and effective teaching, developing a mutual understanding of each person's role in achieving that vision, establishing a schoolwide culture of teacher leadership, and building the trust needed to bring it all together. Leading In Sync: Teacher Leaders and Principals Working Together for Student Learning provides principals, assistant principals, coaches, department leaders, grade-level and content team leaders, mentors, professional development leaders, and in fact all teachers with the strategies and tools needed to: * Examine their own thinking about what constitutes quality teaching. * Tap faculty members who are already leading. * Identify who has the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for particular leadership roles. * Support leadership collaboration through efficient, effective communication. * Develop trust within the school community. Berg offers thought-provoking context and reflection questions so that educators can examine their own unique settings; real-world examples of teachers and principals co-performing leadership to improve student success; and dozens of strategies, tools, and templates to facilitate leading in sync.

Praise for the First Edition: Sparks rejects simplistic solutions to school improvement, and honors the practical knowledge and expertise of educators." —Richard DuFour, Educational Author and Consultant "Dennis Sparks has given us a practical, original, and tough-minded book about what schools need now. An excellent book—but even more, a book to act on." —Mike Schmoker, Consultant and Author "In this inventive ′self-help′′handbook for educators, Dennis Sparks challenges and helps us—not to do something but to be something different." —Roland S. Barth, Author, Lessons Learned Improve teaching and learning in your school by fostering personal and organizational change! Authentic or transformational leadership flows from self-awareness regarding intentions, values, and feelings and its influence is reflected in a leader′s actions. Leading for Results, Second Edition, focuses on the educational leader′s role in actualizing human potential and unleashing individual and organizational energy, while promoting extraordinary performance in "ordinary" people by first changing within oneself. In this updated edition featuring 18 new thought-provoking essays, Dennis Sparks shows how school leaders can promote extraordinary changes, be accountable, and achieve meaningful results for schools, districts, and their personal lives. Using bold theories about education, leadership, teaching, and student learning, you′ll learn how to make change happen, create usable strategies, commit to action, and achieve goals by Examining your assumptions and producing results-oriented thoughts, words, and actions Deepening your understanding of important issues related to the interpersonal challenges of change Engaging in next-action thinking and applying what you′ve learned This powerful resource helps leaders to recognize their capacity for making a tremendous difference in their organizations, ensuring ultimate success!

Offers a practical guide for improving schools dramatically that will enable all students from all backgrounds to achieve at high levels. Includes assessment forms, an index, and a DVD.