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Fearless Conversations School Leaders Have to Have
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Fearless Conversations School Leaders Have to Have

  • Irving C. Jones Sr. - Instructional Leadership Consultant and Lecturer, Houghton Mifflin and Harcourt, Senior Instructional and Leadership Coach
  • Vera Blake - Educational and Business Consultant

Foreword by Bill Daggett



September 2017 | 216 pages | Corwin
Step out of Your Comfort Zone and Really Help Kids 

To meet the needs of today’s learners, fearless leadership is required to support and empower the adults who work with these learners. Anchored in research, Fearless Conversations is a guide to recognizing and using strategies that encourage staff to work at their full potential, build trust, and strengthen collegiality. Strong, courageous, focused, collaborative leadership is a win-win approach for all stakeholders. Readers will find

interviews and case studies to illustrate effective practice
strategies to help them move from traditional methodologies toward stronger transformational leadership
vignettes and examples to ignite additional thinking to facilitate achievement for all students 

Written for aspiring, new, and experienced school leaders, this is a must-read for anyone who wants practical strategies that they can use immediately to build a culture of learning and improve academic achievement for all students. 
"Fearless Conversations School Leaders Have to Have is a  professional “toolbox” for aspiring as well as experienced school administrators and teacher leaders or any educator who cares about meeting the needs of today’s student learner. How to address difficult issues in a leadership role, for example, is presented in a realistic perspective through real-life examples, vignettes, and personal reflections that come not only from the authors themselves but also from school leaders currently in the field. These proven strategies bring credibility to the authors’ work. It is a practical guide that can help school leaders stay on the forefront of success in their schools."
Linda Pincham, Associate Professor
Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL
"This book is timely, practical, and clearly anchored in the rich leadership and coaching experiences of the writers. This book is a must read for all leaders and aspiring leaders at the building and central office level. This book will also be useful at the university level where new leaders are being prepared and inspired."
Lynda C. Wood, Ed.D, Retired Superintendent
Southfield Public School District, Southfield, MI

 




 
Foreword
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Introduction
 
Chapter 1: Creating and Sustaining a Viable Work Environment
 
Chapter 2: Crafting and Supporting Strong Missions and Visions
 
Chapter 3: Improving Through Effective Feedback
 
Chapter 4: Increasing Parent and Community Stakeholder Partnerships
 
Chapter 5: Managing and Sustaining an Organized, Productive, Ever-Changing School Culture
 
Chapter 6: Boosting Collegial Climates by Providing Embedded Professional Development
 
Chapter 7: Planning for Success
 
Appendix A: Daggett System for Effective Instruction Questionnaire
 
Appendix B: An Invitation to Our Readers
 
References
 
Index

"Successful school leaders set the tone, climate, and culture for their teams, departments, and schools; Jones and Blake have a firm grasp on this notion and provide effective and practical strategies for leaders of learning to accomplish this. As challenging as educational leadership is today, Jones and Blake approach this topic with “hopeful realism” and an understanding that fearless conversations are essential if school leaders hope to enhance instruction, improve student results, and build capacity among stakeholders. In Fearless Conversations Leaders Have to Have, Jones and Blake draw on their many years of successful experiences and provide leaders and aspiring leaders sound advice on range of topics necessary for helping students including honing goals and purpose, developing relationships with stakeholders, utilizing data, and implementing professional development. With an eye on 21st century skills, Jones and Blake convey the urgent need for courageous leaders to leverage these areas and others in the pursuit of continued refinement and improvement in teams and across schools. By providing helpful examples of schools addressing these needs as well as reflective questions to assist readers and leaders, Jones and Blake hit the mark on helping school leaders find a balance between good management and effective leadership."

John Gabriel, Principal of the Year
Loudoun County Schools, Ashburn, VA

"Jones and Blake take proven strategies from the field and provide you with a structure to work and lead with the wisdom and creativity needed today in our schools. We can’t build the future for our students by perfecting the past and this book provides the compass points we need to follow on the journey. Our profession needs more books like this!"

Raymond J. McNulty, Dean School of Education Southern New Hampshire University
Author of “It’s Not Us Against Them, Creating The Schools We Need”, Hookset, NH
  •  

Irving C. Jones Sr.

Vera J. Blake

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ISBN: 9781506367545
$39.95

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