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Battling the Hamster Wheel(TM)
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Battling the Hamster Wheel(TM)
Strategies for Making High School Reform Work

Edited by:
  • Grace Sammon - President, GMS Partners, Co-Founder, National Career Academy Coalition, Founder, The Business Institute for Educators


February 2006 | 136 pages | Corwin
In Battling the Hamster Wheel, author and school improvement consultant, Grace Sammon, takes a hard look at the state of high school reform, providing real-life stories from the field, educational research on schools, and effective organizational change strategies.

This book identifies the elements that keep us "running on the wheel". Most important, it provides the insights, strategies, research and humor to help schools "battle the wheel" and meet with success for themselves, their organizations, and their students. School leaders and change agents will learn how to:

o Refine their mission

o Develop strong leaders

o Focus on their own data

o Build a community that succeeds for students and staff alike

Also included is a built-in Book Study and Facilitation Guide for professional learning groups, book study groups, and professional development events.

 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. The Battle Begins
 
2. The Skunk Is on the Table
 
3. D.U.C.K.S. Come in F.L.O.C.K.S
 
4. Glass Balls and Hedgehogs
 
5. The Simple Truth
 
References
 
Index
 
Book Study and Facilitation Guide

"Battling the Hamster Wheel™  takes a hard and honest look at what is and isn't working in our schools. (The author's) humor, common sense, and research have real pay offs for those engaged in reform."

Armando Alaniz, Assistant Superintendent for High School Improvement and Accountability
Houston Independent School District

"Battling the Hamster Wheel™ goes well behyond the sphere of eudcation, (which) is only a beginning point. The lessons have real applicability for all of our organizations and for ourselves."

Sharon E. Barrett, Former Director for Minority and Women
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

"Battling the Hamster Wheel™  provides just the right balance between looking at the real truth about our high schools and providing the motivation, skills, and abilities to make real change."

Melba Kennedy, Louisiana State Department of Education

""Sammon's years of experience in the field as practitioner and consultant have resulted in real rewards for schools serious about the reform process. Her approach in Battling the Hamster Wheel™  provides us with a clear image and useful strategies for 'jumping off the wheel' and engaging in a productive process of effective reform."

Patricia W. McNeil, Former Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of Education

"This is one of the few treatises that I have read over the past several years that is based on reality, rather than ideology; on collective learning, rather than philosophical imposition; on the grassroots, rather than that of top-down reformers; and on the 'lay of the land' rather than preconceptions."

Arnold F. Fege, Director
Public Engagement and Advocacy

"A comprehensive approach to organizational change. Sammon presents readers with the motivation and strategies to engage in effective, meaningful change."

Curriculum Connections, Fall 2006
School Library Journal

Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1


For instructors

This book is not available as an inspection copy. For more information contact your local sales representative.

Purchasing options

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ISBN: 9781412917834
£20.99
ISBN: 9781412917827
£42.99