In The Best Interest Of Students

In his new book,In the Best Interest of Students: Staying True to What Works in the ELA Classroom , teacher and author Kelly Gallagher notes that there are real strengths in the Common Core standards, and there are significant weaknesses as well. He takes the long view, reminding us that standards come and go but good teaching remains grounded in proven practices that sharpen students' literacy skills.Instead of blindly adhering to the latest standards movement, Gallagher suggests:Increasing the amount of reading and writing students are doing while giving students more choice around those activitiesBalancing rigorous, high-quality literature and non-fiction works with student-selected titlesEncouraging readers to deepen their comprehension by moving beyond the four corners of the text-Planning lessons that move beyond Common Core expectations to help young writers achieve more authenticity through the blending of genresUsing modeling to enrich students' writing skills in the prewriting, drafting, and revision stagesResisting the de-emphasis of narrative and imaginative reading and writingAmid the frenzy of trying to teach to a new set of standards, Kelly Gallagher is a strong voice of reason, reminding us that instruction should be anchored around one guiding question: What is in the best interest of our students?

What is in the best interest of our students? Is it teaching to the newest standards movement, like the Common Core? Teaching that prepares students to take a test? Or is it something more meaningful and authentic? In his new book, In the Best Interest of Students, Kelly Gallagher notes that there are real strengths in the Common Core standards, and there are significant weaknesses as well. He takes the long view, reminding us that standards come and go but what remains constant is the need to stay true to what we know works in the teaching of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Instead of blindly adhering to the latest standards movement, Kelly advocates: - Dialing up the amount of reading and writing students are doing. - Balancing rigorous, high-quality literature and non-fiction with high-interest, student-selected titles. - Giving students much more choice when it comes to reading and writing activities. - Encouraging readers to deepen their comprehension by moving beyond the "four corners of the text." - Using modeling to enrich students' writing skills in the prewriting, drafting, and revision stages. - Helping young writers to achieve more authenticity through the blending of genres. - Resisting the de-emphasis of narrative and imaginative reading and writing. - Providing students with more opportunities to sharpen their listening and speaking skills - Planning lessons that move beyond Common Core expectations. In this provocative and insightful new book, Kelly surveys the teaching landscape since the publication of his highly regarded book Readicide, and finds that although some progress has been made, more needs to be done. Amid the frenzy of trying to teach to a new set of standards, Kelly Gallagher is a strong voice of reason, reminding us that instruction should be anchored around one guiding question: What is in the best interest of our students?

Best Interests of the Student presents both a theoretical model for guiding educators as they confront legal and ethical dilemmas in their schools, as well as highly accessible and annotated court cases for exploration. The authors introduce an ethical decision-making model that focuses on strategies for determining what actions are in the "best interests of the student," and demonstrates the application of this theoretical model for examining legal and ethical dimensions of court cases. Discussion questions at the end of each case encourage readers to examine issues from differing viewpoints, helping them to become more self-reflective school leaders who can effectively address legal dilemmas in their own contexts. This important text is a valuable resource for both aspiring and practicing school administrators and leaders. This thoroughly revised edition features: • An entirely new chapter on conceptual and empirical insights grounding our understanding of students’ best interests • 10 new legal cases reflecting recent developments in school law including educational needs of transgender students, immunity for student searches, conflicts between religious expression and free speech, educators’ access to students’ cell phone data, education for children of undocumented immigrants, and access to literacy as a fundamental right • A focus on preparing school leaders to meet the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) • Updated information and references throughout to reflect current context, resources, and education policy

Do your students often struggle with difficult novels and other challenging texts? Do you feel that you are doing more work teaching the novel than they are reading it? Building on twenty years of teaching language arts, Kelly Gallagher shows how students can be taught to successfully read a broad range of challenging and difficult texts with deeper levels of comprehension. In Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12 , he shares effective, classroom-tested strategies that enable your students to: Accept the challenge of reading difficult books and move beyond a "first draft" understanding Consciously monitor their comprehension as they read and employ effective "fix-it" strategies when comprehension starts to falter Use meaningful collaboration and metaphorical thinking to achieve deeper understanding of texts Reflect on the relevance the book holds for themselves and their peers by using critical thinking skills to analyze real-world issues Gallagher also provides guidance on effective lesson planning that incorporates strategies for deeper reading. Funny, poignant, and packed with practical ideas that work in real classrooms, Deeper Reading is a valuable resource for any teacher whose students need new tools to uncover the riches found in complex texts.

This book offers middle and high school teachers useful suggestions and strategies for cultivating literacy in their classrooms, focusing primarily on the key skills of reading and writing. It discusses the nature of standards-based education and emphasizes the power and importance of good literature in the ELA curriculum. Included are detailed approaches to reading and writing with simple strategies for teaching close reading of complex text, as well as textual evidence and elaboration. A variety of sample performance tasks are included for commonly taught works of American and world literature as well as a variety of strategies to strengthen students reading and writing skills needed for success in college and the workplace. This book is a practical handbook for teachers, who can easily find appropriate strategies to use in their classrooms and begin implementing them right away. It is a useful collection of tips with suggestions and instructions for implementing effective and engaging literacy strategies and performance tasks.

Ethical predicaments are endemic for mental health professionals working in a host setting like schools. New interventions, evolving technologies, and a patchwork of ethical guidelines and legal codes create a constant stream of new ethical dilemmas. Quick answers and simple solutions are rare, but with the seven-stage model presented here, readers will learn to apply an ethical decision-making process that minimizes their liability while better protecting their students. Beginning with an introduction to the moral, legal, and clinical foundations that undergird ethical practice, the authors outline an ethical decision-making process to handle conundrums that includes seven major steps: know yourself, analyze the dilemma, seek consultation, identify courses of action, manage the clinical concerns, enact the decision, and reflect on the process. Each chapter describes these steps in detail, provides case examples to illustrate their application, and presents exercises that encourage readers to integrate them into their everyday practice. This handy guide is written for the school social workers, school psychologists, school nurses, and school counselors who are responsible for acting in their students' best interests, as well as post-secondary students studying to enter one of these professions. It will be a trusted resource for school services professionals seeking clear but nuanced guidance in resolving thorny ethical issues.