Taking the Lead on Adolescent Literacy: Action Steps for Schoolwide Success
Administrators will find a user-friendly, five-stage planning process withsix essential rubrics for developing, implementing, monitoring, and sustaining a successful literacy initiative for Grades 4–12.
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Taking the Lead on Adolescent Literacy provides educational leaders with a user—friendly, comprehensive planning process for develoing a new literacy initiative or for dramatically enhancing a current plan that has the power not only to raise student performance levels but also to positively impact grauation rates, employablility, and higher education success. Using a 5—stage framework that has been field&mdashtested nationwide for more than a decade, the authors provides an array of resources to guide in—depth planning, implementation, and monitoring to ensure sustained results, supported by examples from literacy—rich schools, Checklists and assessments, and a glossary of terms. Each stage in the process builds upon a school or district's existing capacities and focuses on 6 detailed rubics that can be implemented at every stage to help ensure long—term success: Student motivation, engagement, and achievement Literacy across the content areas Literacy interventions literacy—rich environment, policies, and culture Parent and community involvement District support of school&mdashbased efforts As Educators, we must orivide students with the critical skills tthey need to communicate and make meaning within an increasingly complex world. This book shows how a sustained focus on literacy can serve as a powerful lever for school improvement.
Foreword by Andres Henriquez Acknowledgments About the Authors Part I. The Model, Process, and Rubrics Rationale for a Schoolwide Focus on Literacy Why Focus on Literacy? How the Literacy Leadership Process Was Developed The Five-Stage Literacy Leadership Process How to Use the Literacy Leadership Process Introduction: The Literacy Action Rubrics Description of the Rubrics Using the Literacy Action Rubrics The Literacy Action Rubrics Part II. Schoolwide Change in Five Stages1. Stage 1: Get Ready Step 1: Build an Effective Literacy Leadership Team Step 2: Create a Vision of a Literacy-Rich School Step 3: Use Data to Establish the Need for Literacy Improvement Next Steps2. Stage 2: Assess Step 1: Identify School Strengths Step 2: Summarize Key Messages From Your School Data Step 3: Assess Current School Implementation Using the Literacy Action Rubrics Step 4: Draft Literacy Action Goals Next Steps3. Stage 3: Plan Step 1: Develop an Implementation Map for Each Literacy Action Goal Step 2: Solicit Feedback From the School Community Step 3: Revise Literacy Action Goal Statements and Implementation Maps Step 4: Publish the Formal Literacy Action Plan Next Steps4. Stage 4: Implement Step 1: Organize for Action Step 2: Monitor and Troubleshoot Implementation Step 3: Monitor Progress Toward Goals Step 4: Plan How to Sustain Momentum Next Steps5. Stage 5: Sustain Step 1: Summarize Progress Toward Goals Step 2: Revise Implementation Maps Step 3: Analyze Success as a Literacy Leadership Team Step 4: Plan How to Sustain Momentum Next Steps Part III. Supporting School and District Administrators as Literacy Leaders6. The Principal's Role Support Literacy Leaders The Five Action Points of the Taking Action Literacy Leadership Model7. District Support Communicate That Literacy Is a Priority Provide Professional Development Provide Specific Types of Fiscal Support Establish Uniform Policies and Procedures Across the District Use Data to Improve Instruction and Monitor Program Effectiveness Develop and Implement a District Literacy Action Plan Use the Five Action Points of the Taking Action Literacy Leadership Model Review the District Plan to Ensure Alignment With State Planning and Advocacy Resources Resource A. School Vignettes Resource B: Tools to Use When Implementing the Five-Stage Process Resource C: Examples of Each Rubric Component in Action Resource D: High School Case Study Resource E: Matrix of Resources Available in Taking Action on Adolescent Literacy and Meeting the Challenge of Adolescent Literacy Resource F: Glossary of Terms References Index
\ Darlene Castelli"The connections regarding best practice research from multiple fields—differentiation, professional development, curriculum mapping, 21st-century literacy, assessment, and instructional strategies—are critical and very well done. These connections are made in a professional, understandable way with theories and classroom applications articulated across grade levels and in many formats: scoring guides, prose, questions, vignettes, case studies, and graphics."\ \ \ \ \ Bess Scott"Wow! This book gives school and district leaders and teams the what, why, and how to do the rocket science work of getting every student to read and write at grade level or above. Principals and literacy teams no longer need to be stuck in the 'We don’t know what to do next' world of frustration."\ \ \ Doug Buehl"This rich resource walks middle and high school literacy leaders through a comprehensive process for conceptualizing, initiating, and, most important, sustaining a schoolwide literacy learning program. The authors clearly know teachers and schools, and their reality-tested tools will prove invaluable in guiding and supporting middle and high school literacy leaders."\ \ \ \ \ Kathleen P. Norton"The Literacy Project is a systemic process that guarantees all students access to superior instructional strategies."\ \ \ \ \ Trip Sargent"This literacy project changed the culture and focus of our school in less than a year. Following the process outlined in this book allowed our literacy team to personalize the project to our school and needs. Our team presented our project to our staff in August and our teachers have implemented it faithfully. Our students know the slogan and are excited about the project. The literacy team has kept the excitement high for the year."\ \ \ \ \ Betty A. Jordan"I have seen numerous educational initiatives come and go in my forty-some years working with schools, but nothing has been as important, relevant, or long lasting as adolescent literacy. Schools that have principals and teachers who have stayed the course with embedded literacy strategies across the curriculum,that focus on literacy rich culture and structures in their buildings, that have students using literacy strategies on their own, and that have staff and students reading and sharing, are the schools that make significant gains in their educational achievement."\ \ \ \ \ Lisa White"The most beneficial aspect of the literacy action planning process was providing training and asking for input from teachers from the very beginning. Literacy support team members were able to reflect on the unique and specific strengths and needs of their buildings and utilize this information to develop a practical implementation plan. The time spent working together on the literacy action plan helped build community and foster a sense of ownership in the change process."\ \ \ \ \ Donna Ogle"In each chapter I found honest descriptions of the tough issues faced by schools trying to focus on literacy across the content areas. More important, the chapters are full of guidelines and practical suggestions for dealing with those challenges. The implementation maps and the rubrics that help school literacy teams diagnose issues, establish goals, monitor implementation, and sustain changes are particularly valuable resources. The authors know that change requires a systems approach with all levels of school and community involved over an extended timeframe. I heartily recommend this as a very useful tool for schools wanting to implement a schoolwide commitment to literacy."\ \ \ \ \ Jerryelyn L. Jones“The five-stage literacy leadership process in the book provided my principals and teachers with an easy-to-follow, researched-based guide to develop a successful literacy program within their schools.”\ \ \ \ \ Connie Kolosey"As educators living in this world of high-stakes accountability, we need a way to focus our activities to be sure that our hard work is well spent. The literacy action planning process developed by Irvin and her colleagues has helped several schools in our district realistically assess their strengths and opportunities for improvement and develop concrete action plans for schoolwide literacy improvement."\ \
