Redesigning Schools for Success

About the Book

The motivation for writing Redesigning Schools for Success came from an observation that we (and others) had made: There are many research-based practices which have been advocated and promoted by educational experts and organizations for years that are not being sustainably implemented in most schools. Exploration of this problem led us to the conclusion that the way most schools are organized and operated inhibits the effective implementation of important practices such as small learning communities, teacher collaboration, personalized educational environment for students, frequently monitoring student achievement, and effective alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. This book presents an option for redesigning the organization of teachers, students, and time that effectively supports these and other best practices.

Redesigning schools requires bold leadership. Although leaders may not directly impact student learning, it is clear that what they choose to do as leaders does make a difference. Leaders must set direction, develop people, and redesign the organization for collaboration and a culture of continuous improvement. Leaders must make decisions regarding what they will inquire about, focus on, monitor, and recognize.

Redesigning a school requires careful and detailed planning as well as excellent execution of those plans. This book presents a planning process and tool that involves all professional staff (and students, if that is the school’s philosophy) in writing plans that focus on the individual’s role in increasing student achievement. Each plan includes a vision and mission statement, measurable objectives, strategies that align with objectives and that have enough potency to achieve the objectives, and action plans that describe the work that the individual needs to do to effectively implement the strategies. Each plan fits on one page.

Through a comprehensive approach to redesigning instruction, curriculum, and assessment, and effective implementation, student achievement will increase.

About the Author

Dr. Charles E. Ruebling is the Director of the Center for School Redesign, Vice President of The Ruebling Group, LLC, an educational consultant, and the principal author of Redesigning Schools for Success.

Dr. Ruebling was a teacher, team leader, and district leader for curriculum, assessment, educational technology, and staff development in the Mason City (Iowa) Community Schools District. In Minnesota, Dr, Ruebling was Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology in the Fridley Independent School District and served two terms on the Eden Prairie Board of Education. In the private sector, he led development and marketing for school administration and instructional management software products.

Nancy A. Clarke was a district administrator for the Cave Creek Unified School District in Cave Creek, Arizona. Her responsibilities included curriculum coordinator, special education director, State and Federal projects director, testing coordinator, and staff developer. Prior to this position, she was an elementary principal, gifted program developer and teacher, Title I program developer/teacher and a classroom teacher.

Dr. Frances A. Kayona is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Community Psychology at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She teaches courses in advanced supervision, program evaluation, personnel administration, curriculum development, research design, and organizational theory.

Dr. Shilrey B. Stow’s leadership in public schools includes classroom teacher grades 3-8, K-12 social studies department head, elementary school principal, and curriculum director. As an Associate Professor of Educational Administration at Iowa State University in Ames, she directed the field-based School Improvement Model Research Center for 25 years.