Leading Edge

Can your students claim a welcoming and supportive school environment? Do they feel physically and emotionally safe? Learn how you and your teachers can nurture supportive relationships with your students, develop conflict management strategies, prevent different forms of bullying, establish high expectations for students and staff, and encourage celebration. You'll also see why parent involvement supports a positive and welcoming school atmosphere.

Actively engage students in their own learning. Discover strategies to promote student mastery of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts across the curriculum. Explore techniques to lead students in close reading, activate their background knowledge to prepare them for learning, and gain insight into habit formation. You ll develop the know-how to effectively structure teaching to empower all students.

Motivate and inspire students to learn at high levels. By bringing meaningful work to the classroom, students will develop curiosity, become actively engaged, and have a sense of purpose for their education. Discover strategies and tips for reshaping the traditional classroom environment to give modern students opportunities to exercise choice in their curriculum, master skills, and demonstrate what they've learned.

Although much about the future is uncertain, trends reveal patterns of behavior that help to resolve some of that uncertainty. McREL has thoroughly researched and tracked these trends to provide readers with a glimpse into the future world of education. The Future of Schooling presents four scenarios of education in 2020. Scenarios are carefully researched stories, full of detail about current and emerging trends that adds credibility and brings forth new understandings. Scenarios are not predictions of the future. They are plausible representations of what could happen. McREL has researched not only those factors that relate specifically to education but also the political environment, the economy, security issues, technological innovations, and social values all of which will impact and contribute to the unfolding of the future of education. The scenarios in The Future of Schooling were built upon questions such as: - What if the current, multibillion-dollar federal investment in education succeeds in identifying and scaling up numerous innovations that transform schooling as we know it? - What if, on the other hand, investing billions of new dollars fails to create dramatic improvements in education? Will the public continue to support public schools as we know them? - What if online learning becomes as commonplace in the schools of tomorrow as chalkboards were in the schools of yesterday? - What if technology allows students to proceed at their own pace along individualized pathways, measuring their progress in real time at each step of the way? - What if the world s best teachers are able to broadcast their lessons to thousands of students each day? By analyzing their content and discussing their implications, the scenarios offered in The Future of Schooling can help educators identify the actions they should take today to maximize their chances of success tomorrow.

Strong leadership, parent involvement, mentoring, data-based intervention, and high expectations are known factors in student success. But what do they really look like in practice--and are they as powerful as research says? Breaking the Poverty Barrier illustrates the specific strategies and critical steps that transformed a school beset with poverty and shockingly low proficiency into a National Showcase School. More than just an inspirational tale, this book serves to outline the measurable results that any school is capable of with the right attitude and work ethic. In LeBlanc-Esparaza's own school, he entered at a time where the percentage of incoming freshmen who met state standards was 2% in reading, 2% in writing, and 1% in math. By the time he left, the percentage of sophomores meeting standards rose to 77% in reading, 67% in writing, and 31% in math. If these numbers seem promising, wait until you start to see your own statistics begin to rise.

How does a Christian lead? By following today's secular business models, or by simply studying the life of Christ and pursuing a servant-based style? In this insightful, practical book, George Barna has pulled together some of today's top Christian leaders to talk about the subject of Christian leadership. Articles include: The Tasks of a Leader by Ken Gangel, The Character of a Leader by Jack Hayford, Prayer in Leading People by Peter Wagner, and much more. See what today's leaders have to say about leadership, and learn what it takes to serve the Church as a Christ-centered change agent.