Creating and Sustaining Small Learning Communities: Strategies and Tools for Transforming High Schools

"Creating and sustaining small learning communities is not for the faint of heart. Without this invaluable resource and the talents and expertise of the writer, we likely would have done neither."
―Cynthia Conwell, School Improvement Facilitator
Houston Independent School District, TX

"Strikes the right balance between theory and practice. This extensive text and impressive electronic tool kit reflects a national perspective on school reform gleaned from the author′s many years of partnering with school systems for success for all students and teachers."
―Gary Norris, Superintendent
Sarasota County Public Schools, FL

"Builds capacity in applying research to practice, providing strategies to improve teaching and learning that maximize student achievement, and using tools and techniques that enable staff to implement, share, and sustain new learning."
―Kent Mathers, Assistant Superintendent
Yukon Public Schools, OK

Transform your high school into a high-performing environment for teaching and learning!

This research-based, fully revised edition of Creating and Sustaining Small Learning Communities demonstrates how to empower school teams and foster the professional practices that create a true climate for success. Author Grace Sammon offers school leaders a step-by-step approach for redesigning high schools into small learning communities (SLC) that cultivate sound instructional methods and personalized learning environments for students.

Presenting a hands-on process that addresses data, personalization, partnerships, curriculum, and instruction, this book moves educational leaders and school reformers from an appreciation of SLC to the nuts and bolts of collaborating and doing the work of improving school culture and academic achievement. With a focus on getting results, the text offers:

• A CD-ROM tool kit with over 30 planning templates and data collection and assessment tools for developing, sustaining, and evaluating a successful school transformation to SLC
• Frequently asked questions about how SLC benefit students and schools
• Procedures to create school-based teams to jump-start and sustain data-driven discussions and decision making

This resource and collection of tools is ideal for school leaders who are serious about continuous improvement to ensure success for all students.

Grace Sammon, president and founder of GMS Partners, Inc., is an educator, school reformer, consultant, “coach,” speaker, and internationally recognized author. She has spent nearly twenty years working in one of the United States’ toughest institutions, the American high school. She has inspired change and fostered improvement in schools, districts, and government organizations nationally through her upbeat advice and sound, practical recommendations. GMS Partners, Inc. is an educational consulting firm dedicated to enhancing school communities through a focused effort on vision, alignment of resources, planning, coaching, professional development, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Under Ms. Sammon’s leadership, GMS Partners, Inc. has worked in thirty-two states across the nation, with a focus on whole-school improvement. She is the cofounding director of the National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC) and the Executive Director of the Business Institute for Educators. Her clients have included schools and school systems at the state and district level, nonprofits, and the U.S. Departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and Navy. 
   
Ms. Sammon has authored Battling the Hamster Wheel:TM Strategies for Making High School Reform Work, eight manuals on school-to-career transition, and articles on organizational change, school partnerships, and staff development. She created Metro MANIA: The Great Train Ride Through Washington, a board and street experience game to facilitate student use of public transportation while they gain an appreciation for the employment and cultural offerings of the nation’s capital. She has also authored five integrated curricular pieces for use in middle schools and a teen pregnancy prevention curriculum and training manual.

She earned her Master’s Degree in Education at The Catholic University of America. She has ten years’ experience in higher education administration and has served as an adjunct university professor and a long-term substitute teacher. Her professional notes include listings in Who’s Who in American Education and being named Outstanding Business Person of the Year by Future Business Leaders of America. In the spring of 1996, she was appointed to the U.S. Secretary of Defense’s Joint Civilian Orientation Council. She has two children, Brian and Kate Loewe, who continue to inspire her with their commitment to justice and equity, and to improving the communities they serve.