Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-168) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Chapter 1. The Importance of Districts -- Chapter 2. The Work of a Generation: The Story of Chicago, Illinois -- Chapter 3. "Systems Elevate Averages": The Story of Steubenville, Ohio -- Chapter 4. Exposing and Learning from Expertise: The Story of Cottonwood and Lane, Oklahoma -- Chapter 5. "A Strong Belief in Equity": The Story of Seaford, Delaware -- Chapter 6. "Everybody Can Rise Together": The Story of Valley Stream 30, New York -- Conclusion: We Can All Get Smarter.
Summary:
In Districts That Succeed, long-time education writer Karin Chenoweth turns her attention from effective schools to effective districts. Leveraging new, cutting-edge national research on district performance as well as in-depth reporting, Chenoweth profiles five districts that have successfully broken the correlation between race, poverty, and achievement. Focusing on high performing or rapidly improving districts that serve children of color and children from low-income backgrounds, the book explores the common elements that have led to the districts' successes, including leadership, processes, and systems. Districts That Succeed reveals that helping more students achieve is not a matter of adopting a program or practice. Rather, it requires developing a district-wide culture where all adults feel responsible for the academic well-being of students and adopt systems and processes that support that culture. Chenoweth explores how districts, from urban Chicago, Illinois to rural Seaford, Delaware, have organized themselves to look at data to guide improvement. Her research highlights the essential role of districts in closing achievement gaps and illustrates how successful outliers can serve as resources for other districts. With important lessons for district leaders and policy makers alike, Chenoweth offers the hard-won wisdom of educators who understand the power of schools to, as one superintendent says, "change the path of poverty."
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.