On School Reform – serie

This book, written by teachers for teachers, takes an important look at the compendium of factors that make up a competent classroom. The authors troubleshoot issues surrounding content standards, instructional objectives, and the aims of curriculum while keeping in mind the importance of inspiring students. This book helps readers consider the essential questions surrounding creative teaching and the ways of helping students take ownership of their learning.

This inspiring book reveals the invisible inner landscapes of how educators teach children from a variety of backgrounds to meet the challenging expectations of today's standards without sacrificing support for their developmental needs or their diverse ways of learning. Featuring 'images of possibility' from an urban school, it describes effective, child-centered teaching in pre-K through fifth grade. Each image is analyzed for the educational decisions that took place to make the experience effective, including the planning involved, the classroom environment and routines that supported it, how standards were addressed, how the teacher assessed student learning to shape instruction, and the impact on students. This practical resource is a must-read for pre- and in-service teachers and anyone committed to helping inner-city children succeed in school and beyond.

This book shows how school improvement efforts are often undermined by the changing conditions around schools, as well as by some of the very policies and programs designed to help them make improvements. Hatch argues that schools cannot wait around for conditions to improve or policymakers to figure out how to provide the 'right' support. Schools need to create the conditions for their own success. To help them accomplish that, the author describes a small set of key practices that schools can use to get resources, manage external demands, and build their capacity to make and sustain improvements over time.