From Silos to Systems

Sally Kilgore is president and CEO of Modern Red SchoolHouse Institute. Her work has appeared in Education Leadership, Harvard Education Review, and American Sociological Review. In the early 1980s, she coauthored High School Achievement with Thomas Hoffer and the noted scholar, James S. Coleman. She has served on the editorial boards of the American Education Research Journal, Sociology of Education, and Review of Research in Education. In the 1980s, she served as the director of the office of research (OERI) for the U.S. Department of Education. During the 1990s, she served on the advisory board for the National Center for Education Statistics. She served on the faculties of Emory University, University of Cincinnati, and Huston-Tillotson College and as an adjunct at Vanderbilt's Peabody School of Education. Karen Reynolds has served as an organizational consultant and facilitator to businesses and schools for over 20 years. While working with MRSH, she has coached teams and principals in large inner city, suburban, and rural districts across the United States. She specializes in helping administrators and school leadership teams design and guide the improvement efforts in their schools. She also works individually with principals as they lead their schools through changes and transitions. She currently serves as the lead facilitator in the federally funded research initiative: Systems Leadership in Middle Schools. Over the course of twenty years, Reynolds grew to understand school improvement issues from a variety of perspectives: as a classroom teacher, an administrator at both the elementary and secondary level, and, finally as a central office administrator.

List of Figures and Tables Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Section I 1. Why Reframe Professional Lives of Educators? 2. Essential Structure for Reframing Professional Life in Schools 3. Essential Processes for Teamwork 4. Managing Change Successfully 5. Barriers and Pitfalls Section II 6. School Culture and Climate 7. Data Analysis 8. Family and Community Partnerships 9. Curriculum and Instruction 10. Technology 11. Professional Development References Index

"The authors' work experience in over 400 low performing schools provides a platform to develop a successful working model to improve schools." -- Randel Beaver, Superintendent "The authors have clearly spent serious time in the 21st century schoolhouse. This book's highly integrated presentation speaks to their fluency in the current language of teachers and instructional leaders. It should be required reading for every principal in America. Clear, powerful, accurate, and provocative writing." -- Rob Kesselring, Head Guide and CEO of UncommonSeminars.com "Educators and policymakers need to add this outstanding book to their toolbox for implementing reform. This well-written volume explains how to reorganize schools into more effective enterprises and cites clear examples grounded in rich scientific studies. For those faced with how to make things happen and work smarter, this excellent book delivers on both!" -- Barbara Schneider, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor "For a principal looking to reorganize the information flow within the building, this book would be a good place to start. It is a quick read and any of the last six chapters could be pulled out and studied individually." -- Justin B. Henry, Superintendent * School Administrator, April 2012 *