Right From the Start

James Marshall's lifelong work lies at the intersection of people and the organizations in which they work-and optimizing the synergy that fertile convergence holds. His scholarship, teaching, and consulting combine our understanding of human performance and organization development to assess strengths, devise strategy, and improve even the most vexing of challenges. Engagements have found him doing everything from evaluating virtual reality delivered training for active shooter containment, to devising strategy that improved the community-focused impacts realized by the national network of over 150 public television stations. He is currently Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University, in the #1 ranked California State University College of Education. In his private practice, he serves as a thought partner to leaders seeking to hasten the collective impact of their organization's investments-especially their human resources. From assessing strengths and needs to conceptualizing strategy and initiatives and then measuring return on investment, Dr. Marshall's unique approach relies on a proven mix of assessment and evaluation, appreciative inquiry, and empathic understanding that predictably yields quantifiable results. Clients particularly note his ability to use data-with novelty and persuasion-to drive change. With over 200 publications to his credit, Dr. Marshall's scholarship encompasses a diverse range of works that includes empirical research, program evaluation efforts, and policy development. His program evaluation endeavors are particularly significant and include over 250 individual studies of funded projects and program investments totaling more than $120 million dollars. This work has been funded by diverse agencies that include the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute for Library and Museum Services, the Public Broadcasting Service, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Transportation Security Administration. His work with state and local education agencies, school systems, and regional offices of education encompasses forty of the fifty United States. Internationally, Dr. Marshall has influenced human and organization performance through his service on the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction (IBSTPI) board of directors. Here, his needs assessment-focused research assisted the organization in better understanding its audiences and their needs, as IBSTPI reformulated its long-term strategy and support of learning leaders worldwide. He can be reached at marshall@sdsu.edu.

List of Figures List of Tables About the Author Foreword by Douglas Fisher Introduction: If Any Outcome Will Do... Part I: Getting Smart Through Needs Assessment Chapter 1: Success Starts with Understanding Needs Chapter 2: What's Going on Here: Barriers and Strengths Chapter 3: The People Chapter 4: The Organization Chapter 5: Summing Up Barriers and Strengths Chapter 6: Let's Get Smart Chapter 7: Collecting Needs Assessment Data Chapter 8: Coming Closer to Clarity: Summarizing Needs Part I Wrap-Up: Linda's Needs in Focus Part II: Designing and Launching the Initiative Chapter 9: Designing the Initiative Chapter 10: Your Solution: Leading Initiative Design Chapter 11: Facts About Fidelity Chapter 12: Mapping the Initiative to Your School or District Chapter 13: The Initiative Plan Chapter 14: Leading Implementation Action Planning Chapter 15: Early Wins Chapter 16: Leadership to Sustain and Promote Programs Over Time Chapter 17: Advice for Scaling Programs Part II Wrap-up: Lessons in Leadership, Inventing the Initiative Part III: From Implementation to Impact Chapter 18: Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment Chapter 19: Program Evaluation Planning Chapter 20: The Evaluation Plan Chapter 21: Three Program Evaluation Models Chapter 22: Developing Evaluation Questions Chapter 23: Data Collection Decisions Chapter 24: Lining Things Up: A Critical Point in Evaluation Planning Chapter 25: Making Findings Persuasive and Actionable Chapter 26: Making Results Useful Part III Wrap-up: Initiative Impact Epilogue: Looking Ahead Appendices Glossary References

Every educator and policy maker has ideas and knows exactly what will improve their school. That's the easy part. But does the solution really fit the need of the school? Do the school players have the commitment or readiness to venture forward? To get it right the first time, apply Marshall's model of implementation in your school. -- John Hattie This is the strongest and most comprehensive book I have read on the topic of implementation. James Marshall has a deep understanding of how school leaders and teachers need to implement initiatives, and he lays out how to do just that. -- Peter DeWitt Right From the Start offers poignant examples, tools, and processes, and it inspires confidence in the potential for program and organizational transformation in multiple contexts. If you are seeking powerful, practical advice, this is the resource you've been looking for. -- Michelle D. Young James Marshall has a wise and dynamic approach to program design. I wish I had found this book years ago. -- Virginia E. Kelsen James Marshall's practical guide offers schools an invaluable tool to plan and strategize efforts that will ensure the expected student outcomes. This is a must read for leaders who are passionate about equity and excellence for all students. -- Jose Francisco Escobedo Every leader who strives to make a difference can benefit from James Marshall's practical guide with its clear language and powerful examples. I wish I had studied this book 40 years ago! -- Joseph E. Johnson Right From the Start provides leadership teams with a simple yet detailed framework they can utilize to examine the suitability of a program and to develop suitable programs for their context. It will help you identify key elements for consideration to ensure a higher level of implementation success. -- Ray Boyd These tools support planning, selecting, monitoring, evaluating, and revising your programs collaboratively to raise teacher and student performance. The intentional practices and questions lead from knowledge to action to reflection, with appreciative inquiry. -- Helene Alalouf James Marshall provides guideposts to avoid common mistakes. You will find common sense approaches to building good programs-understand the audience, the needs, and the design with impact in mind. Stick with Marshall's wise observations and guidance to get it right for the long term. -- Debra Tica Sanchez This is an essential guide for moving ideas into practice. All too often we are disappointed when the intended outcomes of our initiatives are not achieved. Marshall's work provides what leaders need for action and success. -- Andi Fourlis