Working Together in Schools: A Guide for Educators - Softcover

Donaldson, Gordon A.; Sanderson, David R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0803963785 ISBN 13: 9780803963788

Publisher: Corwin, 1996

Synopsis

"A book for our times―a useful and usable book that places collaboration at the center of school improvement. Donaldson and Sanderson make an important contribution to the building of professional community in schools."
Thomas J. Sergiovanni
Lillian Radford Professor of Educational Administration and Senior Fellow Center for Educational Leadership
Trinity University

Donaldson and Sanderson show you how to help your entire staff discover a common goal--improved learning for students―and move toward it together. The authors give you insightful, step-by-step guidance on exactly how to accomplish this. Learn how you can increase the effectiveness of your teaching staff so that every student benefits by improved learning.

Encourage teachers′ personal growth by encouraging them to use creative teamwork to find alternate solutions to tough school problems. Bring staff together to address complicated school concerns as a group. Build your student-oriented school from the inside by encouraging everyone to work toward better instruction. This book is designed to help parents, teachers, principals, and other school staff work together more easily to teach kids better. Find out how collaboration can:

• Build and reinforce common educational goals
• Dramatically raise teaching levels
• Boost teachers′ leadership skills
• Enrich your school′s culture by keeping decision-making on site
• Involve parents with their children′s′ education

Dozens of great, simple ideas and strategies help you turn common, pressing school challenges into opportunities for effective working together. Find out how bringing parents into the equation can further enhance students′ learning experiences. Use the thoughtful, real-life examples provided in each chapter to build a unified teaching and learning community at your school. Let the down-to-earth, practical advice here help you and your staff begins working together more effectively--and your students will reap the reward of a better education.

About this title

About the Author

Gordon A. Donaldson Jr. has written about school leadership and has helped create new leadership development opportunities for educators since the mid-1970s. He is a cofounder of the Maine Principals' Academy, a founding member of the International Network of Principals' Centers, and was Director of the Maine Academy for School Leaders. Gordon began is career in education as teacher and principal in middle and high schools in several states in the Northeast. He is currently Professor of Education at the University of Maine and Coordinator of the Maine Network of School Leaders (5766 Shibles Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5766; phone 207 581-2450; e-mail gordond@maine.maine.edu). He consults with school systems on school improvement and team-building. Donaldson has authored numerous articles and four other books: Learning to Lead: The Dynamics of the High School Principalship (Greenwood, 1991); Becoming Better Leaders: The Challenge of Improving Student Learning, with George Marnik (Corwin, 1995); As Leaders Learn: Personal Stories of Growth in School Leadership, edited with G. Marnik (Corwin, 1995); Making Sense as a School Leader: Persisting Questions, Creative Opportunities, with Richard Ackerman and Rebecca van der Bogert (Jossey-Bass, 1996). He holds an A.B. degree from Harvard College and M.A.T. and Ed.D. degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

David R. Sanderson is an organizational consultant whose career in higher and secondary education has included college teaching, secondary school administration, and leadership in staff and organization development in the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of California at Davis. Making his home on the coast of Maine (RFD #2, Eagle Point, Lamoine, ME 04605; phone/fax 207 667-1213; e-mail dsand@downeast.net), he has worked in the field of organization development since 1986 and specializes in organizational change, strategic planning, conflict and diversity management, and coalition-building. Sanderson's clients include schools and school districts, healthcare organizations, Native American tribes, colleges, university departments and divisions, and government agencies. He is affiliated with the National Rural Development Institute at the University of Wisconsin, which is dedicated to building coalitions among organizations seeking innovative approaches to societal issues through collaboration. He has published a variety of scholarly papers and staff development materials. He is a member of the national Organization Development Network, the Maine chapter of the OD Network, and SearchNet, the national network of consultants who design and lead future search conferences.

From the Back Cover

"Working Together in Schools is a book for our times a useful and usable book that places collaboration at the center of school improvement. . . . Donaldson and Sanderson make an important contribution to the building of professional community in schools." Thomas J. Sergiovanni, Lillian Radford Professor of Educational Administration & Senior Fellow Center for Educational Leadership, Trinity University

"Full of practical guidance and straight talk about how to get professional collaboration going and help it get results. . . . Will inspire its readers to set sail on the course of collaboration, steer them through the swirling currents, and keep them clear of the sirens and rocks." Andy Hargreaves, Director and Professor, International Centre for Educational Change The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto

". . . A guide that offers profound wisdom, guidance, and practicality. It will prove to be an important resource for collaborations that want to achieve and maintain excellence." James L. Evers, Contributor to The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, & Principal, James Evers Associates, Nanuet, NY

"This book helps us see the paths to collaboration we could take, rather than just shooting out of the gate and hoping our strategies will work. It's very useful in helping plan how committees, groups, and partnerships can work together." Rebecca van der Bogert, Superintendent Winnetka Public Schools, Winnetka, IL

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction: Why Work Together 1. Collaboration: The Heart of Working Together 2. Giving and Receiving Help: The Consultative Pair 3. Pairing Up: The Team of Two 4. We Could Do It Together! The Self Initiating Group 5. Appoint a Committee to Handle It! The Task Committee 6. Send It to the Curriculum Committee! The Standing Committee 7. Let's Team Up! The Teaching Team 8. Revitalizing Faculty Meetings: The Whole Staff 9. Collaboration: Making It Happen Index

Edition details

• Publisher: Corwin
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803963785
• ISBN 13: 9780803963788
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 184