Targeted Resources
Recommendation 9—Leadership
These online and print resources are organized to serve as catalysts for discussion and professional collaboration targeted to the topic of leadership.
Related Links
- 8 Strategies for Middle School Design, (Outside Source) American School Board Journal, Vol. 192, No. 10 (October 2005).
- Academic Program Survey—Middle School Level, (DOC; 669KB; 39pp.), California Department of Education; a tool for identifying gaps in services.
- A Facilitator’s Guide to Professional Learning Teams, (PDF; Outside Source) . Greensboro, N.C.: SERVE, 2005.
- Assessing Educational Leaders: Evaluating Performance for Improved Individual and Organizational Results, Douglas Reeves. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, 2002.
- Breaking Ranks in the Middle, (Outside Source). Reston, Va.: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2006.
- CalEdFacts, California Department of Education; a compilation of statistics and information on a variety of issues concerning education in California.
- California’s Hidden Teacher Spending Gap, (PDF; Outside Source). Oakland: EdTrust West, 2005.
- Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, (Outside Source) (WestEd).
- Central Office Inquiry: Assessing Organization, Roles, and Functions to Support School Improvement, (Outside Source), a resource from WestEd.
- Collaboration Rules— Effectiveness in Linux and Toyota: Connections to Education?, (Outside Source), Harvard Business Review (July-August 2005).
- Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals, (Outside Source). Reston, Va.: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2005.
- Developing an Effective School Plan: An Activity-Based Guide to Understanding Your School and Improving Student Outcomes, (Outside Source) by Lori Van Houten, Jeanne Miyasaka, Kim Agullard, and Joy Zimmerman. San Francisco: WestEd, 2006.
- District Assistance Survey (DAS), (DOC; 388KB; 34pp.), California Department of Education.
- District Improvement, (Outside Source): tools and links from SchoolsMovingUp—a WestEd initiative.
- Education Issues, (Outside Source). Education Commission of the States (ECS).
- Education Technology Plan Information, California Department of Education, provides tools that will help administrators lead technology teams in identifying and purchasing appropriate technologies that will support school or district improvement goals.
- English Learner Subgroup Self Assessment (ELSSA), (DOC; 7.52MB; 45pp.), California Department of Education; now part of the Academic Program Survey. The ELSSA tool will help local educational agencies (LEAs) to analyze and revise their LEA Plan to improve outcomes for English learners.
- Financial Planning 101, (Outside Source) is a nine-minute narrated presentation from TICAL about effective financial planning for school or district technology plans.
- Gordon Cawelti, et. al., Handbook of Research on Improving Student Achievement (Third Edition), (Outside Source), Alexandria: Educational Research Service, 2004.
- GreatSchools, (Outside Source)
- How to Conduct Effective Walkthroughs order form, (Outside Source order form ) - an ASCD video, 2006.
- Leadership for Highly Successful Middle Level Schools; A National Study of Leadership in Middle Level Schools, (Outside Source). Volume II. By Jerry W. Valentine and others. Reston, Va.: National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2003.
- Leadership for Learning, (PDF; Outside Source), Southwest Educational Development Laboratory Letter (SEDL), Vol. XVII, No. 2 (December 2005).
- Leadership Responsibilities, from Success in Sight, (PDF; Outside Source) , Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), 2006, 10.
- Leadership Resources, (Outside Source) from the Coalition of Essential Schools.
- Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Self-Assessment, (PDF; Outside Source). The LRE is a self-assessment tool to help districts examine their practices in supporting educational options for students with disabilities.
- Linking Teacher Evaluation and Student Learning, by P. D. Tucker and J. H. Stronge. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005.
- Major Characteristics of a Middle School Culture Capable of Implementing and Sustaining Standards-Based Education, (DOC; 32KB; 1p.), California Department of Education, Original Taking Center Stage.
- National Center for Educational Achievement, (Outside Source), (formerly, Just for the Kids)
- National Center for Middle Level Leadership, (Outside Source), The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
- Playing the Teacher Match Game, (PDF; Outside Source), Gary Schomburg, Principal, Vol. 85, No. 2 (November/December 2005), 53.
- Preparing Leaders for Rural Schools: Practice and Policy Considerations, (PDF; Outside Source). Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, 2005.
- Preparing and Supporting Diverse, Culturally Competent Leaders: Practice and Policy Considerations, (PDF; Outside Source) . Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, 2005.
- Preparing and Supporting School Leaders: The Importance of Assessment and Evaluation, (PDF; Outside Source). Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, 2005.
- Preparing and Supporting Whole Leaders, (Outside Source), Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, 2005 .
- Professional Considerations: Creating a School Culture, California Department of Education, Original Taking Center Stage.
- School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results, (Outside Source)
Robert J. Marzano, Timothy Waters, and Brian A. McNulty, Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005.
- Sample Parent Notification Letter Templates, California Department of Education. The CDE has prepared three sample templates of parent notification letters that are required by federal law to be sent to all parents of students enrolled in a Title I school designated as being in Program Improvement.
- Sample school board policy on adolescent literacy, (Outside Source), South Fayette Township School District School Board.
- School Leadership Learning Community (SLLC), (Outside Source) series of three briefs summarize findings from the first 24 grantees across the country, funded by the Department of Education, to support training opportunities for principals, assistant principals, and aspiring principals.
- School Restructuring Options Under No Child Left Behind: What Works When?, (PDF; Outside Source), Washington, D.C.: The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, 2005.
- Schoolwide Programs, California Department of Education. Information regarding federal schoolwide programs operating under NCLB.
- Six Don’ts of School Improvement—and Their Solutions, (Outside Source), Hugh Burkett, The Center for Comprehensive School Reform Newsletter, May 31, 2006.
- Statewide System of School Support (S4), California Department of Education. Through the Statewide System of District and School Support, technical assistance is provided for LEAs identified as PI (Program Improvement) under Title I of NCLB and LEAs with Title I schools, including those identified as PI.
- Supplemental Educational Services, California Department of Education. Under the NCLB, parents have the option to select SES, which provide additional academic instruction outside the regular school day for eligible students. A list of approved providers as well as the application for potential providers is maintained at this site.
- Teacher Leadership That Strengthens Professional Practice, (Outside Source), Charlotte Danielson. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2006.
- Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership (TICAL), (Outside Source)
- The Challenge of Teacher Quality, Nina Hurwitz and Sol Hurwitz. American School Board Journal, April 2005.
- The Developmentally Responsive Middle Level Principal, (Outside Source) by Vincent A. Anfara, Jr., and others. Westerville, Ohio: National Middle School Association, 2006.
- The Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education, (Outside Source), Vincent Anfara, ed., Charlotte: IAP, 2001.
- The School Personality, California Department of Education, Original Taking Center Stage, 113-114.
- Title I, Part A School Choice, California Department of Education. Students enrolled in PI schools have the option to transfer to schools in the LEA that are not PI, with paid transportation under NCLB. This site provides additional resources regarding school choice.
- Virtual Library, California Department of Education. The Virtual Library is a collection of current articles, links to federal and state programs, and needs assessment tools that may be helpful for districts that have high-priority schools. The resources are divided into five topics: School Reform, Curriculum and Instruction, Strategies from Improving Schools, Grade Span, and Improvement Tools.
- Visual and Performing Arts, California Department of Education. Digital arts falls under visual and performing arts but is funded under career/technical—teams can teach both.
- WestEd’s School Leadership Team Development, (Outside Source) workshop series help school leadership teams from the same district to take sustained action on local goals. Teams use research, data collection, analysis, professional collaboration, and continuous improvement strategies to build the commitment and skills that focus the work of the school on improving student learning results.
- What Current Research Says to the Middle Level Practitioner, (Outside Source), Judith L. Irvin, Ed., Westerville: National Middle School Association, 2003.
Note: Taking Center Stage—Act II (TCSII) includes references and links to third party resources (outside links) that middle grades educators and stakeholders may find thought provoking and a catalyst for discussion and professional collaboration in their quest to improve their schools. Specific references or links by the California Department of Education in TCSII to third party resources, products, processes, or services, or the presence of trade names, trademarks, or other vendor identifiers, do not constitute assessment or imply endorsement by the Middle Grades Improvement Office or the California Department of Education (CDE).
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