‘With the spotlight on schools and the achievement of subgroups of students, educators need to read this book and reflect on the guiding questions. Then we need to take the challenge and do what we know is right so we are doubling student performance and closing achievement gaps.’
—Leslie Standerfer, Principal
Estrella Foothills High School, Goodyear, AZ
‘This text is the product of considerable research and disciplined reflection on closing the student achievement gap in schools, unquestionably the most important challenge facing schools. The book offers a wealth of well-illustrated advice about how to address this challenge and should be required reading for every principal and superintendent.’
—Kenneth Leithwood, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
The keys to closing achievement gaps from principals who have been there!
What does it take to reach across cultural and socioeconomic barriers to bridge student achievement gaps? Drawing on five years of nationwide research, the authors present Learning First, an integrated schoolwide framework of collaborative leadership that helps school leaders advance learning for all students. Using case examples that illustrate how Learning First works in action and providing worksheets, checklists, and rubrics to support implementation, the book shows principals how to apply this field-tested model to four critical dimensions of leadership:
- Advancing equity and excellence in student learning
- Developing teachers′ instructional capacity
- Managing and aligning resources
- Building and engaging community
Learning First! offers an approach that strengthens principals′ leadership skills, delineates shared goals for professional communities, and helps educators keep their eyes on the prize—closing the achievement gap in their schools.
Table of Content
Table of Cases
Table of Tools
Preface
Part I. Introduction
1. The Case for Learning First
2. The Road Map for Learning First
Part II. Socio-Cognitive Leadership
3. Setting Direction and Building Commitment
4. Evidence-Based Plan, Value-Added Results, and Reflection for Continuous Improvements
Part III. The Dimensions of Leadership for Learning
5. Advancing Equity and Excellence in Student Learning
6. Developing Teacher Capacity
7. Managing and Aligning Resources
8. Engaging Community
Part IV. Levers of Change
9. The Principal′s Role
10. The District Role
Resource A. Socio-Cognitive Leadership Rubrics
Resource B. Socio-Cognitive Leadership Friendly Observer Site Visit Protocol
References
Index
About the author
Carolyn Kelley is a professor of educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an internationally recognized scholar in teacher compensation policy whose research focuses on the preparation and professional development of school leaders, and teacher evaluation and compensation as elements of strategic human resource management in schools. Her current research attempts to build a shared conception of mastery in educational leadership by examining the practices of principals who have closed achievement gaps and significantly improved learning for all students. Through this work, she seeks to build formative assessment tools and intervention strategies to improve leadership practice in schools. Kelley earned her Ph D from Stanford University (1993) and conducted research with Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) from 1989 to 2002. Her publications include over 30 journal articles, book chapters, and research reports, and she is the coauthor of two books: Learning First! A School Leader’s Field Guide to Closing Achievement Gaps (with James J. Shaw, Corwin Press, 2009), and Paying Teachers for What they Know and Do: New and Smarter Compensation Strategies to Improve Schools (with Allan Odden, Corwin Press, 1997 and 2001). She has provided consulting services to numerous states, school districts, and policy and practitioner organizations, including national and state teacher unions.
More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
159,656 Ebooks in this category
