Moving Upward Together
Creating Strategic Alignment to Sustain Systemic School Improvement
Published on 2. April 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-57886-098-2 (ISBN)
Description
If school districts want to maintain a high level of performance and sustain improvements that have been achieved during this period of large-scale, whole-district transformation, district leaders need to align their district, both vertically and horizontally. Alignment assures that the work of individuals supports their team goals, the work of teams supports their school's goals, the work of schools supports their clusters, and the work of clusters supports the district's grand vision and strategic direction. This groudbreaking work presents qualitative information about the nature of strategic alignment in school systems and how to create and sustain it. Duffy combines this knowledge with information about how school districts function as systems, about the requirements of strategic planning, and presents a structured, experience-based methodology for transforming school systems. Any and all change-leaders in school districts will benefit from the information Duffy presents. Additionally, school board members and policymakers should be interested. Graduate students taking courses on systemic change in school districts ought to find the book helpful. The book is particularly useful for those change-leaders and policymakers who either want to transform their districts to meet the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence or to satisfy the requirements of No Child Left Behind.
Reviews / Votes
Duffy...addresses the nature of strategic alignment in school systems and explains how to create and sustain it. * Reference and Research Book News * Moving Upward Together has much to offer to anyone interested in true school reform and how school districts can improve and sustain the improvement. Duffy targets 'any and all change leaders and policymakers.' The book is also valuable to school board members and graduate students interested in systemic change in school districts. It serves as a tool for a systemic, comprehensive, and strategic methodology for transforming school districts, but more importantly, it ignites our courage and passion for ensuring that our schools and school systems are the best they can be. -- Pamela Salazar, Ed.D., assistant professor of Educational Leadership, University of Nevada, Las Vegas * Journal Of School Public Relations * ...provides a well-articulated methodology for school leaders to design, deploy, and sustain systems improvement. The author's work unpacks and demystifies the change process through examples from school systems that over time have demonstrated profound systems transformation resulting in improved student learning and achievement. ...Duffy engages the reader in a robust conversation around foundational systems knowledge, his change methodology Step-Up-to-Excellence, and results from school systems that employed his design. * School Administrator *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
476 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57886-098-2 (9781578860982)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Francis (Frank) Duffy is a professor of change-leadership in education in the Department of Administration and Supervision at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. He is a former high school teacher and a certified school administrator, and has held an honorary faculty position at Harvard Graduate School of Education that was sponsored by Chris Argyris. Frank is also an organization improvement consultant specializing in large-scale change, and is a 2002-2003 Education Policy Fellow with the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C. He has published five books on creating and sustaining whole-district school improvement. His last book, Courage, Passion, and Vision: A Guide to Leading Systemic School Improvement, is co-published by ScarecrowEducation and the American Association of School Administrators.
Content
Part 1 Foreword Part 2 Preface Part 3 Acknowledgments Part 4 Part I: First Things First: Foundational Knowledge for Transforming School Systems Chapter 5 1 Prologue on Policy-Making: Understanding the Legacy of School-Based Reform and the Promise of Districtwide Transformation Chapter 6 2 Systems Thinking, System Dynamics, and Systemic Change Chapter 7 3 Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning Chapter 8 4 Strategic Change Leadership to Transform School Systems Chapter 9 5 The Power of Mental Models Part 10 Part II: The Future in the Present Tense How to Transform an Entire School System Chapter 11 6 Step-Up-To-Excellence: An Eagle's View of the Methodology Chapter 12 7 Step-Up-To-Excellence: The Pre-Launch Preparation Phase Chapter 13 8 Step-Up-To-Excellence, Step 1: Redesign the Entire District Chapter 14 9 Transition Management Part 15 Part III: Create and Sustain Strategic Alignment Chapter 16 10 Step-Up-To-Excellence, Steps 2 to 4: Create Strategic Alignment Chapter 17 11 New Brooms Sweep Clean: Sustaining Change When There's a Revolving Door in the Superintendent's Office Chapter 18 12 Step-Up-To-Excellence, Step 5: Evaluate Whole-System Performance Part 19 Epilogue Part 20 Index Part 21 About the Author