Creating Great Schools

Helping educational leaders sustain continuous innovation and improvement in schools, this text presents a framework for understanding the norms, behaviours and structures that make school systems so intractable to change.

What makes a school great? Studies into good schools are numerous, but there has been much less written about great schools. The former are more common, but with success comes complacency; good is the enemy of great. In 2009 the London Leadership Strategy established the Going for Great programme, creating a forum for leaders of schools rated `outstanding' by Ofsted. This collaboration sought to identify and share best practice; based on their case studies, school-to-school visits, the research literature and through seminar, debates and discussions, a model of great schooling has emerged.This publication seeks to explore in depth the Nine Pillars of Greatness written by the course leaders of the Going for Great programme. It considers the range of characteristics that define great schooling, from a school's values and ethos, leadership and teaching to its curriculum, approach to professional development, learning community and ongoing self-evaluation.Supported by a wealth of academic pedagogical texts and written by three authors who have spent their lives in education, The Nine Pillars of Great Schools examines the commonalities between the most successful institutions and demonstrates how to transform a good school into a great school.

We began, prompted by the late Chris Gonnet, Superintendent of Grande Prairie Public Schools, to explore the question 'What Makes a Great School?'in December 2010 at a meeting in Boston. We concluded that it involved many inter-connected elements, but that the key components were focused teacher leadership enabled by being empowered and resourced to make a difference. Rethinking Leadership sees evidence-informed practice as the fulcrum point for leveraging school improvement, especially if it systematically supported within a systematic way at the jurisdiction and provincial levels to build school leadership capacity. We also concluded that the framing conditions for the work of the school - the provincial/ state policies, curriculum requirements, financial arrangements, assessment regimes as well as the policies of school boards and districts - either enables or impairs the ability of a team within the school to create a great school for all students.

FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED! This book is just one element of a suite of resources designed to help improve the educational outcomes for all children by empowering educational leaders in national, regional and local contexts to examine, refine and develop their leadership skills.In this revised and updated edition, the author takes an in-depth and diagnostic approach, encouraging leaders at all levels in schools to think about their own personal qualities; their specific situation; their own leadership actions; and their own overall leadership approach.Developed alongside the book, the Leadership Matters website gives school leaders affordable access to high quality online diagnostic tools, videos and other leadership resources. Everything on the website, including the 40 exclusive videos, is designed around the same 40 topics from the book (known as the LM40), making it really easy for busy school leaders to find what they need.

The New York City School Construction Authority's (SCA) mission is to design and construct safe, attractive, and environmentally sound public schools for children throughout the communities of the City's five boroughs. Since its creation in 1988, the SCA has kept moving forward, constantly innovating to ensure that it designs and builds schools that meet the current needs of the City's students and teachers. In addition to building and modernizing educational facilities, the SCA is invested in developing much-needed resources and capacity building mechanisms for engaging diverse communities in the construction process. The SCA maintains one of the most successful small business development programs in the country and recently established a workforce development and small business initiative for college students. As the SCA celebrates its 30-year anniversary, its primary goal remains the same as on the day of its creation: to ensure that all children in the country's largest public school system have the facilities necessary to prepare them for the twenty-first century and beyond.

Inspire yourself and others with the second edition of this best-selling book. With heartfelt advice, practical wisdom, and examples from the field, Todd Whitaker explains the qualities and practices that distinguish great principals. New features include: Developing an accurate sense of self Understanding the dynamics of change Dealing with negative or ineffective staff members One of the nation’s leading experts on staff motivation, teacher leadership, and principal effectiveness, Todd Whitaker has written over 20 powerful books for educators of every level. Discover what you can do differently.

'Good schools think with people and not to people' argues David Hudson in this thought-provoking practical guide for those wanting to bridge the gap between middle and senior management roles, and make a difference in their schools. Accessibly and engagingly written and packed with real-life examples, this book will prove essential reading for ambitious teachers and deputy heads everywhere. Whilst many management books tend to overcomplicate David writes with refreshing clarity and simplicity of thought. He sets out to inspire his readers to improve their practice and offers tried and tested strategies and solutions. Good teachers, good schools is a must have read for anyone interested in a senior school leadership role and for those leaders keen to improve their leadership style. The book covers every aspect of school leadership, from the decisions senior school leaders need to make such as running meetings, staffing and communication with staff and pupils to the difference between management and leadership and curriculum involvement including monitoring evaluation and self-evaluation. David Hudson encapsulates many principles that have made him a successful school leader. David Hudson has been teaching in secondary schools since 1973 and he has had a wide range of leadership and management roles including that of Head Teacher in two 11 – 18 schools.

The disciplines of school effectiveness research and school improvement practice and research have been apart for too long. This book is the first major attempt, by leading writers and practitioners in these fields, to bring the areas together in a coherent way. Existing knowledge about the characteristics of `good' schools is outlined, together with the knowledge base about how to `make schools good schools'. The book also makes an entirely original contribution to re-thinking practice in school improvement that can revolutionise our thinking in the late 1990s, and which can be of use to academics, to policymakers and to the practitioners which much existing work has neglected.