Evidence-based and engaging, with key takeaways for practitioners in every chapter, this book addresses the existing knowledge gap about how school leaders can effectively develop, support, and sustain networks within and across schools. It is crucial reading for school leaders, system leaders and education researchers working close-to-practice.

Children in today's world are inundated with information about who to be, what to do and how to live. But what if there was a way to teach children how to manage priorities, focus on goals and be a positive influence on the world around them? The Leader in Meis that programme. It's based on a hugely successful initiative carried out at the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina. To hear the parents of A. B Combs talk about the school is to be amazed. In 1999, the school debuted a programme that taught The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleto a pilot group of students. The parents reported an incredible change in their children, who blossomed under the programme. By the end of the following year the average end-of-grade scores had leapt from 84 to 94. This book will launch the message onto a much larger platform. Stephen R. Covey takes the 7 Habits, that have already changed the lives of millions of people, and shows how children can use them as they develop. Those habits -- be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw -- are critical skills to learn at a young age and bring incredible results, proving that it's never too early to teach someone how to live well.

This ground-breaking book titled The 21st Century School Leader: Leading Schools in Today's World focuses on effectively leading schools in the digital age (21st Century and beyond) where a majority of all stakeholders including students, staff, parents, community members, and business owners are digital natives. Written by an award-winning practitioner and international scholar, the author infuses this approach as it applies to all aspects of school leadership. Chapters include Leading Schools in Today's World, Social Media for School Leaders 101, The Importance of Being a Life-Long Learner, Closing the Achievement Gap, Ethics and Leadership, Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, School Climate and School Culture, Work-Life Balance, Professional Learning Network, Leading for Inclusiveness, Educational Policy, School Law, School Finance and Human Resources, and Tips for School Leaders.

Educational researchers, policy-makers and practitioners are increasingly focusing their attention on Professional Learning Networks in order to facilitate teacher development and encourage school and school system improvement. However, despite the understanding that PLNs can contribute significantly to improving teaching practice and student achievement, there are key challenges regarding their use. These challenges include: ensuring PLNs can provide opportunities for generating and sharing knowledge within schools enabling teachers and professionals to direct their own development helping individuals change their practices through inquiry-led approaches facilitating partnerships which work across a variety of stakeholders In this new edited volume, Brown and Poortman evaluate these challenges from both a theoretical and practical approach. A multitude of perspectives from a team of international contributors covers: the importance of Professional Learning Networks the use of evidence within PLNs the impact of inter-school networks international cases of networks and communities the promotion and sustainability of PLNs Also featuring case studies and exemplars to contextualise sustainable learning networks, Networks For Learning is an accessible and thoroughly-researched book, which will be essential reading and a valuable resource for researchers, teachers and school leaders who are interested in developing professional learning networks.

New teachers need support from their peers and mentors to locate resources, information, new ideas, emotional support, and inspiration. This timely book explains the research and theory behind social networks (face-to-face and online), describes what effective social networking for educators looks like, reveals common obstacles that new teachers face in establishing support networks, and offers valuable practical advice. The author follows the stories of four first-year teachers, illustrating the significant impact that social support networks can have on teachers’ lives and challenging common misconceptions of professional support. This book offers action guides to help teachers become “intentional networkers,” including a companion website with tools for networking and collaboration. This is a must-have resource for pre- and in-service teachers. Book Features: Research-based frameworks on teachers’ social networks and professional support.Suggestions for mentors, teacher educators, and school administers on how to help new teachers to effectively develop their social networks.A companion website that will offer discussion forums, resources, and networking tools. “Dr. Baker-Doyle’s book adds an interesting and timely facet—the role of social networks—to the always important discussions about how new teachers can excel in their work. Her research will be of value to those who do professional development with educators and to practitioners alike.” —Susan Fuhrman, President of Teachers College, Columbia University and the National Academy of Education “Without question, this book is a major contribution to the public and academic conversation on school reform and teacher development. But more importantly, it is destined to improve the professional life of any teacher that reads it.” —Marc Lamont Hill, Teachers College, Columbia University

ConnectED Leaders is a call to action for superintendents and school system leaders to grow lead and engage in professional leadership networks. The book is based on principles developed in our professional roles as authors, a district superintendent, educational researcher, non-profit leader, leadership development expert, and a K-16 branding consultant for education and business and our personal roles and as friends, siblings, co-workers and parents. The position we claim in highlighting professional leadership networks is grounded in our work and experience. Our belief in professional leadership networks leads us to collaborate upon the superintendency’s need to employ a strategy of growing professional networks, a first book in today's literature. We intend to help superintendents, novice or veteran, and other school system leaders recognize the importance of collaboration through professional leadership networks at a critical point in public education. With the call for more leadership collaboration and less isolation in today’s schools, we offer school system leaders essential principles of networking, that will help them develop and engage in strategic opportunities of collaboration as a means to strengthen and improve the superintendency, their school district organization, and their students’ success.

The persistent challenge of achieving excellence and equity within education systems has renewed interest in generating context-specific solutions through localised school networks. But how can successful school networks be developed? Based around the lifecycle of a network, this book traces the development of a network from its initial inception, exploring the ways in which it can be sustained and remain capable of meeting the future challenges faced by schools and their communities. The book explores a series of important issues facing school leaders, including: the benefits of investing time and energy in networks with other schools and communities the particular problems faced by schools and the education system which are best tackled by network-based solutions the advantages for schools and communities of engaging with collaborative reform agenda the ways in which networks can be managed, and the differences between leading a school or a team and a network the elements which make an effective network. The book draws on UK and international research to discuss the development and leadership of networks and to outline a number of tried-and-tested leadership approaches. In addition, the authors draw on their own experience and research to provide accounts of real networks to expose the realities of networking. Each chapter tackles a key leadership issue and ends with a series of tools to support those leading and facilitating networks tackle these in practice. This book will be of interest to practising school leaders, network co-ordinators, postgraduate students and those researching educational leadership and school improvement.