Quality Middle School Leadership Eleven Central Skill Areas

by Weller, David L., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780810842922
• ISBN10: 0810842920
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-20
• Publisher: R&L Education

Summary

What are the skills necessary for effective middle school leadership? What are the components of quality middle schools? The answers to these questions lie within this book. The author explores the important facets of a middle school principal's leadership role. It is organized around 11 central skill areas, such as: leadership effectiveness, interdisciplinary teaming, designing curriculum content, and meeting the needs of at-risk students. The result of years of research and evaluation, this essential guide is one that new and experienced middle school principals can implement in their schools in order to provide a better education and a safer learning environment for their students. New in Paperback.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
The Middle School: A Conceptual Framework	p. 1
Rationale for the Middle School	p. 1
Emergence of the Middle School	p. 2
The Junior High School	p. 3
Research for the Emerging Middle School	p. 3
Growth of the Middle School	p. 14
The True Middle School	p. 15
The Middle School Philosophy	p. 19
Characteristics of the Middle School	p. 20
Summary	p. 24
References	p. 25
Leadership for Effective Middle Schools	p. 29
The Effective Schools Movement	p. 29
In Search of the Concept of Leadership	p. 31
Leadership Skills and Competencies of Effective Principals	p. 35
Multiple Intelligences Theory	p. 43
Leadership and Vision	p. 45
Leadership and School Climate	p. 48
Leadership and Research	p. 53
Leadership and the Assessment of Student Progress	p. 55
Leadership and Parental Involvement Programs	p. 64
Organization of Home-School Programs	p. 65
Other Ways to Involve Parents	p. 68
Promoting Middle School Leadership: Case Studies	p. 69
References	p. 81
Leadership for the Exploratory Curriculum	p. 85
The Middle School Curriculum	p. 86
Exploratory Curriculum	p. 91
The Exploratory Curriculum: Case Studies	p. 100
References	p. 107
Teams, Team Building, Team Planning, and Team Teaching: The Role of the Middle School Principal	p. 109
Teams	p. 110
Team Building	p. 116
Team Planning	p. 124
Team Teaching	p. 129
Teams, Team Building, Team Planning, Team Teaching: Case Studies	p. 132
References	p. 143
The Principal and the Interdisciplinary Curriculum	p. 147
The Role of the Principal	p. 148
The Curriculum	p. 150
Building Your Own Curriculum	p. 153
The Interdisciplinary Team	p. 159
The Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Case Study	p. 166
References	p. 177
Intramural Athletics: Promoting Quality Middle School Goals	p. 181
The Need for Intramural Programs	p. 182
The Principal's Role in Building an Intramural Program	p. 185
Promoting a Quality Intramural Program: A Case Study	p. 192
References	p. 199
A Quality Advisor/Advisee Program	p. 201
Middle School Guidance Program	p. 202
Advisor/Advisee Program	p. 204
Rationale for Advisor/Advisee Programs	p. 204
Types of Advisor/Advisee Programs	p. 210
Designing an Advisor/Advisee Program	p. 213
Topics for Advisement	p. 216
Establishing an Advisor/Advisee Program: Case Studies	p. 218
References	p. 227
Leadership for At-Risk Students and Remedial Education in Middle Schools	p. 229
At-Risk Students	p. 230
Contributing Factors	p. 231
Characteristics and Behaviors	p. 232
Level of School Success	p. 235
Learning Styles	p. 237
Building a Program for At-Risk Students	p. 242
Leadership for At-Risk Students and Remedial Education: Case Studies	p. 255
References	p. 262
Schedules and Scheduling for Quality Education	p. 265
Quality Education	p. 266
Scheduling in the Middle School	p. 270
Space and Scheduling in Middle Schools	p. 275
Academic Learning Time	p. 276
Types of Scheduling	p. 277
Flexible Scheduling Options	p. 280
Scheduling the Exploratory Curriculum	p. 292
Schedules and Scheduling for Quality Education: Case Studies	p. 294
References	p. 305
Leadership for Community and Home Involvement with the Middle School	p. 307
School-Community Relations	p. 308
Building a Successful School-Community Relations Program	p. 311
Building a Marketing Program	p. 315
Building a Successful Home-School Program	p. 333
Community or Youth Service Programs	p. 337
Leadership for Community and Home Involvement: Case Studies	p. 339
References	p. 345
The Role of the Principal in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Grouping Practices	p. 347
Organizing for Instruction	p. 348
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Grouping Practices: Case Studies	p. 370
References	p. 374
Continuous Improvement and Action Research: The Quality Methods, Tools, and Techniques for School Improvement	p. 377
Quality in Education	p. 378
Specific Quality Tools to Reduce Variance in the School	p. 389
Planning Tools	p. 394
Data Collection and Analysis Tools	p. 404
Using the Quality Tools for Continuous Improvement: Case Studies	p. 417
References	p. 427
Appendix	p. 429
Index	p. 455
About the Author	p. 465
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