More than 50% of America's schools today exist in rural settings. This book addresses the distinctiveness of rural school leaders, identifies issues encountered by administrators, faculty, and students, and concludes by proposing new standards for rural schools in general and their leaders. This book will be of special interest to everyone involved in the operation of a rural school district.

The purpose of School Climate and Culture vis-à-vis Student Learning is to describe a reform that improves test scores, reduces dropouts and decreases bullying behavior. There are six areas that must be improved in order to accomplish this purpose. These six areas are the following: discipline, basic needs of humans, culture and climate, control, parent and community involvement, and levels of openness and trust. Discipline is one of the main problems in classrooms across the US. The autho...

The purpose of our book is to share with our readers some insights we have acquired over the years in our administrative experience implementing change and reforms. Two areas that are critical for any reform to succeed are the way communications and conflicts are handled. We have included a chapter on interpersonal communications that describes five basic communication skills. We have also included a chapter on conflict with provides a number of insights on how to handle conflicts and how ...

A high-performing school is described as one where student achievement is high and student and teacher absenteeism is low. Student behavior is such that teachers seldom have to control them or tell them what to do. This results in greater time on task, higher teacher morale, low teacher absenteeism, and improved parental support. One other distinctive feature of a high-performing school is that the student peer group is a positive force and not a negative force. The end result is a school ...

In spite of soaring tuition costs, more and more students go to college every year. A bachelor’s degree is now required for entry into a growing number of professions. And some parents begin planning for the expense of sending their kids to college when they’re born. Almost everyone strives to go, but almost no one asks the fundamental question posed by Academically Adrift: are undergraduates really learning anything once they get there?For a large proportion of students, ...

The author of the best-selling What the Best College Teachers Do is back with humane, doable, and inspiring help for students who want to get the most out of their education. The first thing they should do? Think beyond the transcript. Use these four years to cultivate habits of thought that enable learning, growth, and adaptation throughout life.

Many teacher resources explore the fundamentals of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This one takes UDL to the next level for educators who understand the basics—and can't wait to start using UDL in their lesson plans and classrooms.In this practical, accessible guidebook, UDL expert Patti Kelly Ralabate walks teachers through the entire UDL lesson planning process, from developing learning goals to monitoring student progress. Through vignettes, exercises, video demonstrations,...

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has become the predominant method of assessing clinical competence. Taking an OSCE is a skill which needs to be learned. Medical curriculum provides little formal training in this area. Rather than dealing with complex pedagogical principles, this book gives simple and practical advice on OSCEs. Ten practical tips are provided including how to get to the core objective, use of appropriate language and dealing with the standardized patient. ...

José Vilson writes about race, class, and education through stories from the classroom and researched essays. His rise from rookie math teacher to prominent teacher leader takes a twist when he takes on education reform through his now-blocked eponymous blog, TheJoseVilson.com. He calls for the reclaiming of the education profession while seeking social justice.José Vilson is a middle school math educator for in the Inwood/Washington Heights neighborhood of New Yor...

Over the course of ten years, this extensive qualitative study focused on the academic resilience phenomenon. The research delves into the educational resilience experiences of fifty low socioeconomic students of color from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. In addition to chronicling specific protective factors and processes active in the students' lives, several symbiotic relationships between groups of protective factors are documented and explored. A Resilience Cycle ...

An inspiring and practical guide to creating a larger vision in early child care, this popular professional development tool has been thoroughly revised and offers a concrete framework for organizing an early childhood center director's ideas and work. Updated and expanded, it reflects new requirements and initiatives for center directors and addresses topics including cultivating a vision, developing "systems thinking" for management roles, implementing principles and strategies for mento...

Help children participate in purposeful play to promote the development of a number of important skills.