Failure is Not an Option: 6 Principles for Making Student Success the Only Option (Paperback)  | Released: 17 Feb 2010

For our children, for our future: failure is never an option!How did a tough, D school in Brooklyn that was about to be closed down become an A school in less than 3 years? How did a large school district in the Midwest use data to drive effective school improvement that led 15 of their 88 schools to make AYP for the first time? How are entire nations like Finland ensuring smooth leadership transition and capacity to sustain student success?Five years, 200,000 readers, and one national award after Failure Is Not an Option was first published, Alan M. Blankstein has documented how educators have closed gaps, turned schools around, and sustained overall success. With contributions from Pedro A. Noguera, Andy Hargreaves, and Dean Fink, this book outlines the who, what, and how of becoming a high-performing school and learning community, shows how to avoid ten common routes to failure, provides double the resources, includes many new case stories and examples, and offers new emphasis on: - Diversity - Assessment for learning - Intervention and support for students at risk - Schooling as a community endeavor involving families The second edition of Failure Is Not an Option tells more than the story?it gives all the specifics, the tools, the insights, and the processes that others have used to ensure that success is the ONLY optionTable of ContentsForeword by MICHAEL FULLANWhy Failure Is Not an OptionCourageous Leadership for School Success10 Common Routes to Failure, and How to Avoid EachRelational Trust as Foundation for the Learning CommunityPrinciple 1: Common Mission, Vision, Values, and GoalsPrinciple 2: Ensuring Achievement for All Students?Systems for Prevention and InterventionPrinciple 3: Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching for LearningPrinciple 4: Data-Based Decision Making for Continuous ImprovementPrinciple 5: Gaining Active Engagement From Family and Community ALAN M BLANKSTEIN and PEDRO A NOGUERAPrinciple 6: Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity ALAN M BLANKSTEIN with ANDY HARGREAVES and DEAN FINKBibliographyIndex