“We found that a healthy, respectful classroom and school environment was fundamental to successful school change,” write veteran literacy consultants Bonnie Campbell Hill and Carrie Ekey, “and that we needed this necessary foundation before we could help schools build meaningful and long-lasting literacy initiatives.”
Their Next-Step Guide to Enriching Classroom Environments lays this foundation with two parallel rubrics that help everyone contribute to a successful literacy initiative:
- A rubric for leaders helps principals, literacy coaches, and staff developers assess whether a school’s physical spaces and instructional practices are well aligned and helps set achievable goals
- A rubric for teachers helps them examine their classrooms and design spaces that mirror research-based beliefs about learning and teaching.
Each chapter walks through one strand of the rubrics and provides study groups and PLCs with even more tools for developing common language, beliefs, and practices around integrating classroom design and literacy instruction:
- ponder boxes guide study of the book, stimulate discussion, and suggest next steps
- book lists point to paths for further professional learning
- full-color photographs and vignettes from exemplary classrooms burst with ready-to-use ideas.
“We hope the classrooms we describe knock your socks off! But they are more than just beautiful,” write Bonnie Campbell Hill and Carrie Ekey. “They’re also based on research and sound theories about teaching and learning.” Use the powerful tools in The Next-Step Guide to Enriching Classroom Environments and watch your school change one well-designed classroom at a time.
Bonnie Campbell Hill (1955-2011) consulted in hundreds of schools worldwide to inform the rubrics in The Next-Step Guide to Enhancing Writing Instruction (2010) and The Next-Step Guide to Enriching Classroom Environments (2010) both co-authored with Carrie Ekey. She brought the latest research in instruction and staff development to literacy initiatives to help teachers grow in understanding and effectiveness. Bonnie is also the the author of Supporting Your Child’s Literacy Learning (2007). Visit bonniecampbellhill.com for additional photographs and annotations linked to her books.
Heinemann remembers Bonnie Campbell Hill (1955-2011)
Heinemann was deeply saddened by the news that Bonnie Campbell Hill lost her courageous battle with liver cancer on May 10 2011. An internationally known educational consultant specializing in the areas of literacy instruction and assessment, Bonnie loved to travel and trained teachers in international schools worldwide. One of Bonnie's last projects—started when she had just months to live—is "Bonnie's Big Idea," a fundraising effort to fight global illiteracy. Donations to Bonnie's Big Idea can be made to Room to Read at bonniesbigidea.com. Bonnie is survived by her husband Steve Hill; daughter Laura Hill; two sons, Keith Bolling and Bruce Hill; and her father Art Campbell.
Carrie Ekey’s consulting experience in hundreds of schools worldwide has informed the rubrics in The Next-Step Guide to Enhancing Writing Instruction (2010) and The Next-Step Guide to Enriching Classroom Environments (2010) both co-authored with Bonnie Campbell Hill. She brings the latest research in instruction and staff development to literacy initiatives so teachers can grow in understanding and effectiveness. Carrie is a former teacher, staff developer, and curriculum specialist.
