Diane W. Gómez - Böcker

Literacy Leadership in Changing Schools will help literacy leaders improve teachers’ professional development in grades K–6. The authors use literacy basics to suggest concrete approaches that leaders and coaches can use to help teachers improve their instruction with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Based on firsthand experiences, research, and a school-university-community collaborative (Changing Suburbs Institute® in New York), this practical book homes in on what literacy leaders need to do in today’s rapidly changing schools. With vignettes, strategies, and guidelines, each chapter is devoted to one essential component of serving as an effective literacy leader.Throughout, the book addresses typical issues leaders and teachers face, such as high-stakes testing, increasing failure rates, rigorous teacher and principal evaluations, family engagement, shrinking resources, and teachers’ inexperience with instructing diverse students.

Embrace the changing suburbs by changing your school!As your students evolve, has your school evolved with them? Schools across the country face sweeping demographic changes and a reshaping of suburban scenery into a more urban landscape. This unique book offers not only an explanation of the increasing diversity in student makeup, but also ideas for acting as an agent of positive change for your school and tools to implement those ideas. Shelley Wepner and the experts at The Changing Suburbs Institute recommend ways you can improve student achievement byDeveloping a plan of action that addresses the need for more focused, culturally responsive student instructionCreating a culture that celebrates diversity and values cultural awarenessCollaborating with universities and communities to promote professional development and student learningProviding programs for English learners such as tutoring, the arts, and summer support Involving parents to promote student achievementEffective teaching and engaged learning flourish in schools where diversity and awareness are embraced. Changing Suburbs, Changing Students puts education in suburban America into perspective and gives you the tools to maintain high achievement for all!"Any district dealing with changing cultures would find these ideas useful. The experiences and the scenarios are most applicable to schools facing an increase in ELL population."—Martin J. Hudacs, SuperintendentSolanco School District, Quarryville, PA "This book helps administrators of suburban school districts understand the complexities of the job they hold. More importantly, it provides specific solutions to the challenges they face every day."—Ken Arndt, SuperintendentCommunity Unit School District #300, Carpentersville, IL

This coedited book describes the impact that an increasingly diverse student population has on 21st century suburban schools. It also presents what can and should be done to help K-12 school district administrators and teachers address this growing phenomenon across the nation. This eight-chapter book:provides a demographic, political, economic, and sociological overview of the changing nature of suburban schools describes the nature of student diversity in the changing suburbs and issues with student achievement identifies administrative responsibilities and program structures for working with a changing student populationproposes ways to reduce the achievement gap, most notably in literacylooks at how to use “whole child” assessment protocols to provide support for such studentsdelves into parent inequities within changing suburban districts and offers ideas for closing the parent gap.This book is written for school district administrators, teachers, legislators, policy makers, teacher educators, and educational researchers for developing programs and pathways for a segment of the student and parent population that now is living in suburban areas without traditional roots as advantaged suburbanites.

This coedited book describes the impact that an increasingly diverse student population has on 21st century suburban schools. It also presents what can and should be done to help K-12 school district administrators and teachers address this growing phenomenon across the nation. This eight-chapter book:provides a demographic, political, economic, and sociological overview of the changing nature of suburban schools describes the nature of student diversity in the changing suburbs and issues with student achievement identifies administrative responsibilities and program structures for working with a changing student populationproposes ways to reduce the achievement gap, most notably in literacylooks at how to use “whole child” assessment protocols to provide support for such studentsdelves into parent inequities within changing suburban districts and offers ideas for closing the parent gap.This book is written for school district administrators, teachers, legislators, policy makers, teacher educators, and educational researchers for developing programs and pathways for a segment of the student and parent population that now is living in suburban areas without traditional roots as advantaged suburbanites.

Entrepreneurial Leadership is written for K-12 educational leaders who understand their critically important role as motivators, influencers, and entrepreneurs. These are leaders who have a mindset for pursuing opportunities that positively impact their organizations. They know that they need to go beyond their own institutions to see and seize opportunities that will bring resources and services to their schools to help their students achieve. This book helps them to develop and use their entrepreneurial skills to cultivate partnerships with businesses, community organizations and individuals, and colleges/universities. General and specific guidelines are provided to initiate, develop, implement, evaluate, and sustain partnerships. Such partnerships can be with individuals, groups, institutions, organizations, and corporations at the local, regional, statewide, and national levels. Policies, procedures, and practices for effective negotiations within school systems and with potential partners are included throughout the book to promote enriched opportunities and noteworthy successes.

Entrepreneurial Leadership is written for K-12 educational leaders who understand their critically important role as motivators, influencers, and entrepreneurs. These are leaders who have a mindset for pursuing opportunities that positively impact their organizations. They know that they need to go beyond their own institutions to see and seize opportunities that will bring resources and services to their schools to help their students achieve. This book helps them to develop and use their entrepreneurial skills to cultivate partnerships with businesses, community organizations and individuals, and colleges/universities. General and specific guidelines are provided to initiate, develop, implement, evaluate, and sustain partnerships. Such partnerships can be with individuals, groups, institutions, organizations, and corporations at the local, regional, statewide, and national levels. Policies, procedures, and practices for effective negotiations within school systems and with potential partners are included throughout the book to promote enriched opportunities and noteworthy successes.

Professional Development Schools are complex and comprehensive school university partnerships focusing on professional development of new teachers and veteran teachers while providing high quality education to P-12 students. The chapters of this book contain the stories of 8 highly successful and nationally recognized professional development schools. Each story provides the reader with practical ideas, procedures and policies that can be implemented by the reader to begin new partnerships or help improve and sustain existing partnerships.Each chapter discusses the rich clinical preparation combined with progressive experiences in PDSs that have made the partnership successful. The diverse authors from several different states describe their efforts to forge PDS partnerships to develop and deliver high quality teacher preparations, practical experiences for teacher candidates, and simultaneously provide professional development for experienced practitioners.The book will be a valuable resource to school and university faculty and administrators as they transition to a partnering model of clinical preparation for teacher candidates: it will help stakeholders decide if their schools and institutions are ready to commit to a partnership, and highlight the benefits they stand to gain. The book also realistically addresses challenges in a way the reader can prepare for to reduce obstacles in establishing and sustaining PDSs.