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Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools: How You Can Know If Your School Is a Good One
Harold Shaw Publishers, 1999. ISBN 0-87788-840-X Price $12.99

How can you tell if your school is a good one? Does a new school building make a difference? High test scores? What about small class sizes? Does an eloquent, articulate, and personable principal impress you? Would a winning football team tell you anything? Do the presence of innovative programs indicate quality?

The task of evaluating the success or effectiveness of a school is a daunting one; parents, administrators, and community activists frequently request my advice on just how to proceed. Here's a letter I received recently from Karen, a parent in the Midwest:

In 1992, when I wrote Schooling Options: Choosing the Best for You and Your Child, parental choices were more limited—a specified public school in the attendance area where you lived, a tuition-based private or parochial school, or a home school. Today, in many cities and/or states, schooling options are more varied. Many districts have open enrollment policies; magnet schools are offered to meet the specialized needs and interests of students; charter schools have been established  (AZ, MI, IL); and in some states, vouchers (WI) or scholarships (AZ) are available to help parents underwrite the costs of a private school education. To determine if a school is a good one isn't an easy task. My recommendation to Karen was to proceed with great care. You'll understand why after reading Chapter 3. Many families are faced with moving to new states or cities and are confused about which communities have the "best" schools.  Michelle and her family live in a Great Lakes state and they wonder how best to approach a school search.

While individual communities or states may offer information and ratings for public schools based on state assessments, SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Tests) scores, and/or graduation rates, determining whether a specific school will offer the academic challenge and/or safe environment that Michelle is seeking may be more difficult. Parents can no longer assume that a parochial school will offer curriculum and teaching methodologies that are distinctive or challenging. Many have become clones of the public school, hiring teachers who have been trained in the same methodologies as public school teachers and purchasing textbooks from the same publishers. Private schools have no obligation to "tell all" to visiting parents and if they have a waiting list, parents are sometimes not even permitted to visit the school until their child is actually accepted. Even buying an expensive home in an exclusive community offers no assurance that the schools will offer the kind of education they're seeking. In my recent book, Angry Parents, Failing Schools: What's Wrong with the Public Schools and What You Can Do About It, I interviewed many parents who were forced to find other schooling options because the highly-touted and well-funded public school system wasn't meeting their child's needs.

What's a parent to do? Your homework! I'm not promising this will be an easy task. But, it's an essential one. Choosing a school for your child is infinitely more difficult and important than purchasing a mutual fund for your IRA or buying a new car. There are few consumers' guides to schools. Even schools in the same district, especially if it's a large one, can completely differ in terms of what they teach and how they teach it. What does make a school a good one? What characteristics, traits, or qualities are the most important to consider? If you're confused, you're not alone.

Parents aren't the only ones who have questions and concerns about the success of a school. Principals are under increasing pressure to "notch-up" the performance of the schools they lead. John, an elementary school principal, is on the hot seat. His students are failing the state assessment and he realizes that if he continues to do what he's always done, he'll keep on getting the same results.

Committed educators like John are desperately looking for ways to improve their schools and are often just as baffled by how to make their school a "good one" as parents are about finding the right school for their child. Administrators are often faced with poorly trained teachers, bureaucratic regulations, and the wild pendulum swings of educational innovation. They, like the parents of their students, are looking for benchmarks by which to measure their schools, for without a clear picture of  "what a good one looks like", the task of leading their schools to excellence becomes a matter of wishful thinking and/or guesswork. Fortunately, for John, there are many ways to increase student achievement in reading.

In addition to parents like Michelle and Karen, and principals like John, I also hear from community activists and groups of individuals unhappy with the current state of public education. They are setting about to design a school/district from the beginning. David is a member of one such committee in a metropolitan area. He writes:

Charter school committees, church task forces, small groups of home-schooling parents who have banded together, and even entrepreneurs are all debating and discussing the question: What do we want our "new" school to be like?

When I replied to Michelle, Karen, John, and David, I suggested three "big ideas" for them to consider:

1. What do you want the people in your school to be like?
2. What kind of learning do you want to take place in your school? and
3. What kind of climate or culture do you want to pervade the atmosphere and life of the school?

Chapter 1 introduces you to the ten traits and briefly summarizes each one.
Chapter 2 examines the people that are part of a highly successful school: administrators, teachers, students, and parents. You'll find the specific qualities of each category that should be considered in your evaluation process.
Chapter 3 discusses the most important focus of any school: What is being taught and how well are students learning it? You'll find some ways to evaluate styles of, approaches to, and the content of the curricula found in today's schools. We'll also consider how to evaluate test scores to determine if a school is maximizing learning for every student.
Chapter 4 examines the climate of a school: its mission, communication channels, and discipline and safety.
In Chapter 5 we'll specifically examine the school's reading program and give you some ideas about how you can rate your school's reading quotient. Both educators and parents can use the instrument in this chapter to determine if their school is doing an exceptional, adequate, or sub-standard job of teaching reading.
Chapter 6 looks at mathematics instruction in your school (K-12) and includes a questionnaire to help you determine if your school's math program adds up to the right answer.
Finally, you'll find a variety of resources that can help you "grade" the schools in the nation, your community, and your neighborhood: web sites, books, reports, and services.

Counseling Tips for Elementary School Principals.
Corwin Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8039-6723-3 Paperback. ISBN 0-8039-6722-5. Library Edition.
Learn how to be more attuned to potential problems with students, parents, and staff. Recognize the behaviors or situations that signal a need for help, and then determine the level of intervention needed. Become more informed about and effective at solving common and not-so-common problems. This book will help you to master basic counseling skills. You'll learn to:

• Make sense of what others are thinking, feeling, and doing
• Improve communication in your conferences with parents and/or students
• Keep your emotions in check when you're under attack
• Counsel ineffective teachers
• Deal effectively with parents who are angry, troubled, fearful, or hostile
• Make appropriate referrals to school counselors or other professionals

Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership - 3^rd Printing
Corwin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8039-6666-0.
Make a difference for each person in your school. This practical, hands-on guide will help you make a substantive impact on the lives of your students and your staff as you improve education in your school. Learn how to:

• determine the difference between leadership and instructional leadership
• assess your current level of instructional leadership using the seven steps
• find out how your staff thinks you're doing
• set goals for improving your instructional leadership practice
• and evaluate your progress toward your goals.

Leading Your Team to Excellence: How to Make Quality Decisions
Corwin Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8039-7608-6521-4.
Teams are built, not formed. Find out how to:

• introduce your staff to "teaming"
• create a structure for "teaming"
• build a trusting environment
• deal with conflict
• cultivate creativity
• improve problem-solving skills
• and share decision-making to increase your staff's productivity.

How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Plain Crazy - 3^rd Printing
Corwin Press, 1998. ISBN 0-87788-019-0.
Learn how to handle disgruntled parents. As a former principal, McEwan's tested strategies will help you create a positive environment for parental involvement. It includes:

• methods to defuse out-of-control parents
• practical ways to build parental support
• the "Healthy School Checklist."