"Schools as Professional Learning Communities is an extraordinary achievement. It brings together what a long-time practitioner can see and sense. It is an illumination of an exciting path to a constantly improving instructional community."S. David Adler, Superintendent (retired)Bergen County Schools, Newton, NJ"This book is a must for those seeking to prepare school leaders as well as those seeking to improve school performance. Roberts and Pruitt have presented us with a scholarly work that provides the nuts and bolts for those seeking to understand school leadership."Leslie Agard-Jones, Dean, College of EducationWilliam Paterson UniversityTransform your school into a learning community with this practical, research-based guide!Well-documented research shows that teaching, learning, and educational outcomes for students greatly improve when a school becomes a community--that is, when everyone works together to collaboratively search for and resolve problems in their schools. So if your ultimate goal is to help all members of the school community assume a leadership role, this one-stop sourcebook is exactly what you need to get started.Authors Roberts and Pruitt provide the knowledge and skills necessary to work effectively with teachers, parents, administrators, and students to build a learning community. Schools as Professional Learning Communities is full of practical strategies, tips, and activities, and addresses the immediate issues faced by teachers in their classrooms and the work teachers, supervisors, and principals perform daily.Highlights of this nuts-and-bolts guide Leading in the role of principal Working in groups and effectively using team processes Initiating study groups for building a learning community Providing learning opportunities for teachers through classroom observation Mentoring, providing collaborative assessment of student work, and other cooperative approaches Developing professional portfolios Sustaining the learning community For school administrators and teachers focused on student achievement, equity, and teacher leadership, this is a must-have resource.
I think the idea of this book is good. I just found it somewhat repetitive for what we already do as a faculty in my school district. I think it would be a more beneficial book to schools who didn't have any professional learning communities in place.