Engaging EVERY Learner » (New Edition)

Alan M. Blankstein is Founder and President of the HOPE Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose Honorary Chair is Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The HOPE Foundation (Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education) is dedicated to supporting educational leaders over time in creating school cultures where failure is not an option for any student. HOPE has a decade-long track record of sustaining student success in districts throughout North America.

The HOPE Foundation launched the professional learning communities movement in educational circles, first by bringing W. Edwards Deming and his work to light in a series of Shaping America's Future forums and PBS video conferences from 1988 -- 1992. Now, The HOPE Foundation provides some 20 conferences annually as well as long-term support for thousands of educational leaders throughout North America and other parts of the world through leadership academies and intensive on-site school change efforts.

A former "high risk" youth, Alan began his career in education as a music teacher and has worked in youth-serving organizations since 1983, including the March of Dimes, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National Educational Service (now Solution Tree) which he founded in 1987 and directed for 12 years.

Alan is author of the best-selling book Failure Is Not an Option™: Six Principles That Guide Student Achievement in High-Performing Schools, which has been awarded"Book of the Year" by the National Staff Development Council. Currently, Alan is Senior Editor along with Paul Houston of the eight-volume The Soul of Educational Leadership series. Alan also co-authored the Reaching Today's Youth curriculum with Rick Dufour and has published articles in Educational Leadership, The School Administrator, Executive Educator, High School Magazine, Reaching Today's Youth, and Inside the Workshop. Alan has also provided keynote presentations and workshops for virtually every major educational organization.

Alan is on the Harvard International Principals Centers advisory board, served as Board member for Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, is Co-Chair of Indiana University's Neal Marshall Black Culture Center's Community Network and advisor to the Faculty and Staff for Student Excellence (FASE) mentoring program. He is also an advisory board member for the Forum on Race, Equity, and Human Understanding with the Monroe County Schools in Indiana, and served on the Board of Trustees for the Jewish Child Care Agency (JCCA), in which he was once a youth in residence.

Paul D. Houston has served as executive director of the American Association of School Administrators since 1994.

Dr. Houston has established himself as one of the leading spokespersons for American education through his extensive speaking engagements, published articles, and his regular appearances on national radio and television.

Dr. Houston served previously as a teacher and building administrator in North Carolina and New Jersey. He has also served as assistant superintendent in Birmingham, Alabama and as superintendent of schools in Princeton, New Jersey; Tucson, Arizona; and Riverside, California.

Dr. Houston has also served in an adjunct capacity for the University of North Carolina, Harvard University, Brigham Young University and Princeton University. He has served as a consultant and speaker throughout the U.S. and overseas, and he has published more than 100 articles in professional journals.

Robert W. Cole is proprietor and founder of Edu-Data, a firm specializing in writing, research, and publication services. He was a member of the staff of Phi Delta Kappan magazine for 14 years: assistant editor from 1974-1976, managing editor from 1976-1980, and editor-in-chief from 1981-88. During his tenure as editor-in-chief, the Kappan earned more than 40 Distinguished Achievement Awards from the Association of Educational Publishers, three of them for his editorials.

Since leaving the Kappan, Cole has served as founding vice president of the Schlechty Center for Leadership in School Reform (1990-1994). At CLSR he managed district- and community-wide school reform efforts and led the team that created the Kentucky Superintendents' Leadership Institute. He formed the Bluegrass Leadership Network, in which superintendents worked together to use current leadership concepts to solve reform-oriented management and leadership problems.

As senior consultant to the National Reading Styles Institute (1994-2005), Cole served as editor and lead writer of the Power Reading Program. He and a team of writers and illustrators created a series of hundreds of graded short stories, short novels, and comic books from Primer through Grade 10. Those stories were then recorded by Cole and Dr. Marie Carbo; they are being used by schools all across the United States to teach struggling readers.

Cole has served as a Book Development Editor for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), for Corwin Press, and for Writer's Edge Press. He has been president of the Educational Press Association of America and member of the EdPress Board of Directors. He has presented workshops, master classes, and lectures at universities nationwide, including Harvard University, Stanford University, Indiana University, Xavier University, Boise State University, and the University of Southern Maine. He has served as a special consultant to college and university deans in working with faculties on writing for professional publication. Recently he began serving as managing editor and senior associate with the Center for Empowered Leadership.

Join today's most insightful thinkers as they explore the heart, mind, and soul of educational leadership!

This concise volume offers educational leaders key concepts and strategies for framing discussions about closing the equity gap and ensuring high achievement for all learners. As the first volume in The Soul of Educational Leadership series, this unique collection presents:

• Pedro Noguera and Alan Blankstein on essential questions and themes
• Randall and Delores Lindsey on culturally proficient equity audits
• Antoinette Mitchell on the knowledge base for teaching diverse learners in big-city schools
• Stephen Peters on how to capture, inspire, and teach every learner
• Thomas Guskey on rethinking the work of Benjamin S. Bloom
• Karen Pittman and Merita Irby on readiness for college, work, and life
• Alan Boyle on helping failing schools to turn around
• Richard Farson on the paradoxes of risk, challenge, failure, and innovation

Pioneering educators and series editors Alan M. Blankstein, Robert W. Cole, and Paul D. Houston offer thought-provoking ideas applicable to all schools, districts, and learning communities, and include a complete index for browsing and easy reference.

Acknowledgments     vii
About the Editors     ix
About the Contributors     xi
Introduction     xv
Terms of Engagement: Where Failure Is Not an Option   Alan M. Blankstein     1
From Vision to Reality: Pedro Noguera Discusses Engaging Every Learner With Alan Blankstein   Pedro A. Noguera   Alan M. Blankstein     29
Culturally Proficient Equity Audits: A Tool for Engaging Every Learner   Delores B. Lindsey   Randall B. Lindsey     37
The Emergence of a Knowledge Base for Teaching Diverse Learners in Big-City Schools: From Practice to Theory to Practice   Antoinette Mitchell     59
Capture, Inspire, Teach!: Reflections on High Expectations for Every Learner   Stephen Peters     83
All Our Children Learning: New Views on the Work of Benjamin S. Bloom   Thomas R. Guskey     101
Engaging Every Learner: Blurring the Lines for Learning to Ensure That All Young People Are Ready for College, Work, and Life   Karen J. Pittman   Merita Irby     119
Compassionate Intervention: Helping Failing Schools to Turn Around   Alan Boyle     147
The Case for Failure: Risk, Innovation, and Engagement   Richard Farson     173
Index     193