Failure Is Not an Option

6 Principles That Advance Student Achievement in Highly Effective Schools
Third Edition
Alan M. Blankstein - Founder, Solution Tree and HOPE Foundation, NYC
Failure Is Not an Option
December 2012 | 352 pages | Corwin
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Paperback
ISBN: 9781452268279
Available from January 0001

Description

School improvement that lasts: find out how with this masterful guide!

Common Core requirements, merit-based pay, new teacher evaluations, project-based learning—21st-century learning is a demanding and rapidly changing landscape. Advance from overwhelmed to empowered with Alan Blankstein’s Failure Is Not an Option, used by more than 350,000 educators to create schools that sustain success for every student.

New case studies and field-tested techniques uncover indispensable insights into successful school change. Develop high-performing leadership teams through

  • Powerful engagement strategies and capacity-building questions to help staff and students leverage what’s working and target measurable goals
  • New real-world examples to help stakeholders maintain collaborative cultures in the face of new teacher evaluations and merit pay, sustain successful RTI and Common Core initiatives, thrive in diverse settings, and promote community engagement
  • New tools, forms, and video segments on a companion website

Use this handbook to discover what makes results-oriented, enduring school improvement models work!

Praise for the Second Edition:
“An overwhelming body of research shows that educational change and improvement must come from the inside. Here is a practical road map for improving the climate and culture of schools in ways that are meaningful and enduring. We must be open to new ideas, new strategies, and new opportunities. School transformation is something you do with educators, not to them. This book will show you how.”
—Dennis Van Roekel, President
National Education Association

Contents

List of Resources

List of Resources

Foreword by Pedro A. Noguera

Foreword by Pedro A. Noguera

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

  • Chapter 1. Why Failure Is Not an Option
  • Chapter 2. Courageous Leadership for School Success
  • Chapter 3. 10 Common Routes to Failure, and How to Avoid Each
  • Chapter 4. Relational Trust as Foundation for the Learning Community
  • Chapter 5. Principle 1: Common Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
  • Chapter 6. Principle 2: Ensuring Achievement for All Students: Systems for Prevention and Intervention
  • Chapter 7. Principle 3: Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching for Learning
  • Chapter 8. Principle 4: Data-Based Decision Making for Continuous Improvement
  • Chapter 9. Principle 5: Gaining Active Engagement from Family and Community by Alan M. Blankstein and Pedro A. Noguera
  • Chapter 10. Principle 6: Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity by Alan M. Blankstein with Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink

Conclusion

Conclusion

Resources

Resources

Book Group Discussion Questions

Book Group Discussion Questions

References and Further Readings

References and Further Readings

Index

Index

Resources

Additional materials

Description

School improvement that lasts: find out how with this masterful guide!

Common Core requirements, merit-based pay, new teacher evaluations, project-based learning—21st-century learning is a demanding and rapidly changing landscape. Advance from overwhelmed to empowered with Alan Blankstein’s Failure Is Not an Option, used by more than 350,000 educators to create schools that sustain success for every student.

New case studies and field-tested techniques uncover indispensable insights into successful school change. Develop high-performing leadership teams through

  • Powerful engagement strategies and capacity-building questions to help staff and students leverage what’s working and target measurable goals
  • New real-world examples to help stakeholders maintain collaborative cultures in the face of new teacher evaluations and merit pay, sustain successful RTI and Common Core initiatives, thrive in diverse settings, and promote community engagement
  • New tools, forms, and video segments on a companion website

Use this handbook to discover what makes results-oriented, enduring school improvement models work!

Praise for the Second Edition:
“An overwhelming body of research shows that educational change and improvement must come from the inside. Here is a practical road map for improving the climate and culture of schools in ways that are meaningful and enduring. We must be open to new ideas, new strategies, and new opportunities. School transformation is something you do with educators, not to them. This book will show you how.”
—Dennis Van Roekel, President
National Education Association

Contents

List of Resources

List of Resources

Foreword by Pedro A. Noguera

Foreword by Pedro A. Noguera

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

  • Chapter 1. Why Failure Is Not an Option
  • Chapter 2. Courageous Leadership for School Success
  • Chapter 3. 10 Common Routes to Failure, and How to Avoid Each
  • Chapter 4. Relational Trust as Foundation for the Learning Community
  • Chapter 5. Principle 1: Common Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
  • Chapter 6. Principle 2: Ensuring Achievement for All Students: Systems for Prevention and Intervention
  • Chapter 7. Principle 3: Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching for Learning
  • Chapter 8. Principle 4: Data-Based Decision Making for Continuous Improvement
  • Chapter 9. Principle 5: Gaining Active Engagement from Family and Community by Alan M. Blankstein and Pedro A. Noguera
  • Chapter 10. Principle 6: Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity by Alan M. Blankstein with Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink

Conclusion

Conclusion

Resources

Resources

Book Group Discussion Questions

Book Group Discussion Questions

References and Further Readings

References and Further Readings

Index

Index

Resources

Additional materials

SAGE Publishing Logo

Failure Is Not an Option

6 Principles That Advance Student Achievement in Highly Effective Schools


December 2012 | 352 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/01/2025 9781452268279 $41.95

School improvement that lasts: find out how with this masterful guide!

Common Core requirements, merit-based pay, new teacher evaluations, project-based learning—21st-century learning is a demanding and rapidly changing landscape. Advance from overwhelmed to empowered with Alan Blankstein’s Failure Is Not an Option, used by more than 350,000 educators to create schools that sustain success for every student.

New case studies and field-tested techniques uncover indispensable insights into successful school change. Develop high-performing leadership teams through

  • Powerful engagement strategies and capacity-building questions to help staff and students leverage what’s working and target measurable goals
  • New real-world examples to help stakeholders maintain collaborative cultures in the face of new teacher evaluations and merit pay, sustain successful RTI and Common Core initiatives, thrive in diverse settings, and promote community engagement
  • New tools, forms, and video segments on a companion website

Use this handbook to discover what makes results-oriented, enduring school improvement models work!

Praise for the Second Edition:
“An overwhelming body of research shows that educational change and improvement must come from the inside. Here is a practical road map for improving the climate and culture of schools in ways that are meaningful and enduring. We must be open to new ideas, new strategies, and new opportunities. School transformation is something you do with educators, not to them. This book will show you how.”
—Dennis Van Roekel, President
National Education Association


Table Of Contents:

  • List of Resources
  • Foreword by Pedro A. Noguera
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • Chapter 1. Why Failure Is Not an Option
  • Chapter 2. Courageous Leadership for School Success
  • Chapter 3. 10 Common Routes to Failure, and How to Avoid Each
  • Chapter 4. Relational Trust as Foundation for the Learning Community
  • Chapter 5. Principle 1: Common Mission, Vision, Values and Goals
  • Chapter 6. Principle 2: Ensuring Achievement for All Students: Systems for Prevention and Intervention
  • Chapter 7. Principle 3: Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching for Learning
  • Chapter 8. Principle 4: Data-Based Decision Making for Continuous Improvement
  • Chapter 9. Principle 5: Gaining Active Engagement from Family and Community by Alan M. Blankstein and Pedro A. Noguera
  • Chapter 10. Principle 6: Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity by Alan M. Blankstein with Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink
  • Conclusion
  • Resources
  • Book Group Discussion Questions
  • References and Further Readings
  • Index

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