Making Good 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.

'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.

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.

Michael L. Printz Honor Book Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor Book Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Book Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for Teens Six Starred Reviews—★Booklist ★BCCB ★The Horn Book ★Publishers Weekly ★School Library Connection ★Shelf Awareness A Booklist Best Book for Youth * A BCCB Blue Ribbon * A Horn Book Fanfare Book * A Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book * Recommended on NPR's "Morning Edition" by Kwame Alexander "This powerful story, told with the music of poetry and the blade of truth, will help your heart grow."–Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Shout "[A] testimony and a triumph."–Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way Down In her own voice, acclaimed author and poet Nikki Grimes explores the truth of a harrowing childhood in a compelling and moving memoir in verse. Growing up with a mother suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and a mostly absent father, Nikki Grimes found herself terrorized by babysitters, shunted from foster family to foster family, and preyed upon by those she trusted. At the age of six, she poured her pain onto a piece of paper late one night - and discovered the magic and impact of writing. For many years, Nikki's notebooks were her most enduing companions. In this accessible and inspiring memoir that will resonate with young readers and adults alike, Nikki shows how the power of those words helped her conquer the hazards - ordinary and extraordinary - of her life.

A thorough examination of the characteristics of a high- performing school, written by Sir Cyril Taylor (Chairman of the Specialist Schools Trust) and Conor Ryan (senior adviser to Tony Blair on Education).

Arguing against the tougher standards rhetoric that marks the current education debate, the author of No Contest and Punished by Rewards writes that such tactics squeeze the pleasure out of learning. Reprint.

This book provides a guide for a long-overdue public dialogue about why and how we need to reinvent our nation's schools. How has the world changed for our children; what do all students need to know in light of these changes; how do we hold students and schools accountable for results; what do good schools look like; and what must leaders do to create more of these schools? These are some of the questions that drive this book. The answers emerging to these questions may surprise many. The most successful public schools of the 21st century look a lot more like our 19th century village schools than our current factory model of schooling. This book describes these "new village schools" that have been created in the last decade and suggests that they are a prototype for the schools of the future.

Offers advice for parents, teachers, and policymakers on how to make schools work for all young Americans.