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On the Web

Educational Leadership www.ascd.org/pubs/el/elintro.html

Several full-length articles from Educational Leadership, the official publication of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development are available online. The April 1998 issue focuses on reshaping school leadership and includes articles by Linda Lampert and Michael Fullen. Institute for Educational Leadership www.iel.org IEL works to bring together educators, civic leaders, business executives, parents, and public officials to benefit children. It establishes broad-based leadership networks and creates innovative approaches to complex issues. With more than twenty programs and partnerships in place, IEL reaches deep into states and communities around the country. In additional to learning about their many programs, the web site includes a directory of leadership development and training resources and information about IEL’s publications. The Role of Leadership in Sustaining School Reform: Voices From the Field www.ed.gov/pubs/Leadership Strong leadership appears in almost every list of attributes of successful schools, but what do long-term school reform leaders view as their essential competencies? What do they see as their role in sustaining reform? How do they engage teachers, families, and communities in partnerships that build programs to help children meet challenging standards? How do such leaders know when they are doing a good job? Dozens of successful education leaders from across the country provide answers to these and other questions in this 1996 report from the U.S. Department of Education.

In Print

The Adaptive School: A Sourcebook for Developing Collaborative Groups By Robert J. Garmston & Bruce M. Wellman, 1999

This guide presents innovative ideas and insights on how educators can work together. Drawing on a number of sources and disciplines, including chaos theory, organizational development, cognitive psychology, and group dynamics, the authors offer a perspective for viewing work with groups and the work of groups.

Christopher-Gordon Publishers, 1502 Providence Highway, Suite 12, Norwood, MA 02062; (800) 934-8322, fax (781) 762-2110

Building Leadership Capacity in Schools By Linda Lampert, 1998 In this book, Linda Lambert takes a close look at leadership in schools, which today involves far more than a single leader. The author defines leadership as the learning processes among participants in a community—processes that lead toward a shared sense of purpose. Leadership capacity refers to the breadth of participation in leadership and the depth of skill that teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community members bring to the work.

The stories of three schools—an elementary school with low leadership capacity, a middle school with moderate leadership capacity, and a high school with high leadership capacity—reveal how school people can lead their communities to improve student learning. The stories show five features of effective leadership: (1) broad-based, skillful participation in the work of leadership, (2) inquiry-based use of information to inform decisions and practice, (3) roles and responsibilities that reflect broad involvement and collaboration, (4) reflective practice/ innovation as a norm, and (5) high student achievement.

This book outlines what schools and districts must do to build leadership capacity, including how to get started, how to sustain the momentum, and how to design school districts capable of supporting such work.

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1703 North Beauregard Street, alexandria, VA 22314; (800) 933-2723, fax (703) 575-5400; www.ascd.org

Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform By Michael Fullan, 1993 Writing with clarity and insight, the author provides a foundation for understanding and coping with the daunting problems of educational reform and the complexity of dynamic and continuous change. This book debunks many of the current myths about the roles of vision and strategic planning, site-based management, strong leadership, consensus, and accountability.

Drawing on research from successful organizations in business as well as in educational systems, Change Forces identifies eight basic lessons about why change is seemingly chaotic and what to do about it. Fullan brings together the moral purpose of education to produce better citizens regardless of class, gender, or ethnicity with the skills necessary for individuals and systems to contend successfully with the forces of change.

The Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 119007; (800) 821-8312, fax(215) 785-5515

Leadership for Tomorrow’s Schools By Jerry L. Patterson, 1993 The author presents a vision of leadership that is "pulled by the future" rather than "pushed by the past." He asserts that in order to meet the challenges of the future, we must rethink our beliefs about leadership and adopt new organizational values. Using school-based examples, the author provides guidlines for developing core values and using them to guide decisio making.

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; (800) 933-2723, fax (703) 575-5400; www.ascd.org

Real Questions, Real Answers: Focusing Teacher Leadership on School Improvement By John H. Clarke, Stephen D. Sanborn, Judith A. Aiken, Nancy A. Cornell, Jane Briody Goodman & Karin K. Hess, 1998 Problem-based school development (PBSD) builds the capacity of teachers and others to tackle problems in a way that allows authentic adult learning to take place—;with simultaneous benefits for schools and the students they serve. The authors tell how a relationship between the University of Vermont and school districts throughout the state enables teachers to earn graduate credits through yearlong PBSD Institutes. The institutes take participants through a cycle of identifying a problem, conducting background and action research, field-testing possible solutions, and recommending action. The authors offer the perspectives of both teachers and administrators as they provide guidelines for making PBSD work. They conclude by offering principles of policy development that accommodate both.

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; (800) 933-2723, fax (703) 575-5400; www.ascd.org

Teachers—Transforming Their World and Their Work Ann Lieberman & Lynne Miller, 1999 In this sequel to their ground-breaking volume, Teachers—Their World and Their Work, the authors address the contemporary realities of schools and teaching. The words and experiences of teachers and principals are used to show what growth and change look like from the teacher’s perspective: what change requires, how differences in context and personnel are accommodated, what people learn as they change, and what it feels like in the process.

The authors discuss what matters and works when transforming schools and how our concepts for developing leadership and providing professional development must change in response to the new realities of teaching.

Teachers College Press, P.O. Box 20, Williston, VT 05495-0020; (800) 575-6566, fax (802) 864-7626; tcp.orders@aidcvt.com; website: tc-press.tc.columbia.edu

The Team Handbook for Educators: How to Use Teams to Improve Quality By Joiner Associates, 1994 Comprehensive and easy to use, this handbook explains how to use project teams to improve quality throughout an educational system. The first chapter provides background on the evolution and nature of the new focus on quality. The second chapter introduces the basic tools and concepts of quality improvement. The remaining five chapters describe a project from inception to closure, including how to select project team participants, run team meetings, use a scientific approach to find root causes of problems, develop and implement a plan for school improvement, and build teamwork. This book is designed to show administrators, staff, and community members the scope of support needed to improve quality.

Joiner Associates, 3800 Regent Street, P. O. Box 5445, Madison, WI 53705; (800) 669-8326, fax: (608) 238-8134; sales@orielinc.com





Vol. 4, No. 2, Fall 1999

In this issue:

Fostering Leadership

Defining the Role of the Teacher Leader

Leadership Teams and Collaborative Inquiry

A Yardstick for Measuring the Growth of a Team

A Handbook for Elementary and Middle School Principals

Teachers Leading Change

Making Schools Work for All Students

Equity Book Club

Harvard Elementary Science Curriculum Survey

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