Product Description: There has never been a OLA Guide like this. OLA 183 Success Secrets is not about the ins and outs of OLA. Instead, it answers the top 183 questions that we are asked and those we come across in our forums, consultancy and education programs...read more

Provides information and case studies to help teachers assess the reading and writing ability of students.

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Developed in response to the growing interest in examining individual schools as they undergo change, this book features eight case studies of urban elementary and high schools as they face problems and attempt to find solutions in their quest to reform themselves. The cases, with all their pitfalls and problems, provide examples of the very bumpy road of change and of the individual school cultures that sometimes support and often impede reform. Told in the individual voices of various school leaders, the narratives reflect the inevitable biases of people immersed in their work. Their richness derives from the passion with which these stories are told. Textured and complex, these chronicles invite readers to think deeply about the many layers involved in the process of changing schools. School Leadership in Times of Urban Reform is a powerful text for courses in educational leadership, school reform, and the politics of education. Engaging pedagogical features at the end of each case facilitate its use: *Each case ends with an "Analysis of Leadership" section and "Extended Thinking" questions and activities. *Sections 2-5 conclude with "Reflections" to help the reader uncover the major themes and issues. Section 1 is an introductory analysis of reform and school leadership; it provides a frame of reference for examining the case studies that follow. Sections 2-5 are organized around eight case studies (two per section) that address questions of how the leadership roles of school principals and teachers have been shaped by the reform initiative; how parents and local communities have contributed to school reform; and how the culture of the school, and teaching and learning, have been shaped by reform. The final section synthesizes and analyzes what the authors have learned through these cases concerning the leadership roles of principals, parents, community members, and teachers during the period of reform; how the cultures of schools changed as reform progressed; and how reform impacted the instructional practices of teachers and the learning of students.

Product Description: Based on principles of inclusion and constructivism, this text offers balanced coverage of whole language and basal reading instruction and offers clear strategies for melding approaches to accommodate the needs of individual learners...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Teaching Reading in Elementary Classrooms: Developing Independent Readers For teachers who sometimes feel as if data-based instruction, differentiated groupings, and formative assessments somehow involve going over to The Dark Side, this book is a powerful antidote...read more

Product Description: As budgets tighten for school districts, a sound understanding of just how teaching and administration translate into student learning becomes increasingly important. Rebecca Barr, a researcher of classroom instruction and reading skill development, and Robert Dreeben, a sociologist of education who analyzes the structure of organizations, combine their expertise to explore the social organization of schools and classrooms, the division of labor, and the allocation of key resources...read more