Whatever It Takes

by Holland, Holly; Peterson, Donna

• ISBN13: 9780807745427
• ISBN10: 0807745421
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-28
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don't Learnexamines the question, What happens when, despite our best efforts in the classroom, a student does not learn? A professional learning community creates a school-wide system of interventions that provides all students with additional time and support when they experience difficulty in their learning. The authors describe the systems of interventions, including Adlai E. Stevenson High School's Pyramid of Interventions, created by a high school, a middle school, and two elementary schools. The authors also discuss the logistical barriers these schools faced and their strategies for overcoming them

Author Biography

Holly Holland is the former editor of National Middle School Association's Middle Ground magazine.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Donna Peterson
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	1	(20)
PART I: A PLAN FOR POOR KIDS
Building a Community of Learners	21	(17)
First-Generation College Students	29	(4)
Internal Improvements	33	(5)
A Foundation for the Future	38	(8)
Organizing for Long-Term Success	41	(5)
Academic Support for College	46	(14)
``You Need to Know That You're Not Stupid''	49	(5)
Training Students to Compete	54	(6)
Setting Up the Safety Net	60	(16)
From One to Many	66	(4)
Walk for Success	70	(6)
Classroom Consistency	76	(19)
A Framework for Good Behavior	84	(5)
Growing Pains	89	(6)
Concentrating on Teaching and Learning	95	(24)
Counting on the Power of Math	107	(12)
PART II: SCALING UP
Balancing Intimacy with Growth	119	(15)
Mentors Matter	121	(5)
Bigger, Not Necessarily Better	126	(8)
Learning to Change	134	(18)
The Context for Reform	136	(8)
Strong Non-Profit Organizations	144	(5)
A Local Champion	149	(3)
Reaching Out to Rural America	152	(12)
``We Need to Work with Them''	159	(3)
Coping with Changing Times	162	(2)
The System and the Student	164	(9)
Believing in Their Potential	167	(6)
Notes	173	(2)
References	175	(8)
Index	183	(10)
About the Author	193