Failure Is Not an Option: Six Principles for Making Student Success the Only Option » (2nd 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. Founded in 1989, HOPE has focused for the last decade on helping districts build leadership capacity to close gaps and sustain student success.

The HOPE Foundation launched the professional learning communities movement in educational circles, first by bringing W. Edwards Deming and later Peter Senge 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, highlighting their long-term successes in sustaining student achievement in districts and regions in seventeen states and parts of Canada and South Africa.

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.

In addition to authorship of this award-winning book, Alan is Publisher of three Failure Is Not an Option® video series and Senior Editor along with Paul Houston of the thirteen-volume The Soul of Educational Leadership series. Alan also co-authored the Reaching Today’s Youth curriculum 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 former 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 also served as advisory board member for the Forum on Race, Equity, and Human Understanding with the Monroe County Schools in Indiana, and on the Board of Trustees for the Jewish Child Care Agency (JCCA), in which he was once a youth in residence.

Help ensure that failure is never an option for any child by demonstrating how school leaders can apply six powerful principles to create successful, sustainable high-performing schools!

The resources in this facilitator’s guide can also be found at the HOPE Foundation Web site at www.hopefoundation.org.

About the Author How to Use This Chapter-by-Chapter Guide Tips to Facilitate Discussion Chapter-by-Chapter Study Guide: Failure Is Not an Option: 6 Principles for Making Student Success the ONLY Option, Second Edition by Alan M. Blankstein Chapter 1. Why Failure Is Not an Option Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Resources Chapter 2. Courageous Leadership for School Success Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Chapter 3. 10 Common Routes to Failure, and How to Avoid Each Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Resources Chapter 4. Relational Trust as Foundation for the Learning Community Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Chapter 5. Principle 1: Common Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Resources Chapter 6. Principle 2: Ensuring Achievement for All Students?Systems for Prevention and Intervention Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Resources Chapter 7. Principle 3: Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching for Learning Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Resources Chapter 8. Principle 4: Data-Based Decision Making for Continuous Improvement Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Resources Chapter 9. Principle 5: Gaining Active Engagement From Family and Community by Alan M. Blankstein and Pedro A. Noguera Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Chapter 10. Principle 6: Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity by Alan M. Blankstein with Andy Hargreaves and Dean Fink Chapter Content Review Activities Discussion Further Reading Wrap Up Your Reading With Reflection Resources Resource 1. FNO Snapshot Rubric for Educational Leaders Resource 2. FNO Student-Success Model and Critical-Success Factors Resource 3. Williamston Zoomerang Survey: Tying Professional Development to Results Resource 4. FNO Tuning Protocol Resource 5. Williamston Graphic Organizer and Rubric for Writing Resource 6. Williamston Professional Development Agenda Resource 7. Strategies for Making Time Resource 8. Self-Assessment Resource 9. Strategies for Dealing With Resistance Resource 10. Running River Elementary School Mission Statement Resource 11. Development Process for Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals Resource 12. Worksheet for Developing a School Improvement Plan Resource 13. Pyramid of Support at Coyote Ridge Elementary School Resource 14. Developing a System of Prevention and Intervention Resource 15. Instructional Learning Walks Resource 16. Checklist for Using Diagnostic (Preteaching) Assessments Resource 17. Checklist for Using Formative Assessments Resource 18. Checklist for Using Summative Assessments Workshop Evaluation Form