Leading Together
Teachers and Administrators Improving Student Outcomes
- Jonathan Eckert - Baylor University
Foreword by Barnett Berry
Leadership is what is done, not who is doing it. The leadership work blurs the lines between teachers and administrators. Leading Together introduces a collective approach to progress, process, and programs to help build the conditions in which strong leadership can flourish and student outcomes improve.
All school teams will find applicable insights as they explore the Collective Leadership Development Model for School Improvement. This book:
? Breaks down this innovative model and explains the significance and interdependence of each proven and tested component.
? Asks fearless reflection questions that both challenge and demand deliberate practice.
? Offers case study insights from an urban, rural, and suburban school.
Lead and learn together. Start building your team with an eye on the end game.
"Leading Together is the best guidance we have to date about how to collaboratively dismantle the wall that has stood between teachers and school administrators for over a century. This is a marvelously accessible book in which collective leadership is discovered through the eyes and voices of teachers and principals."
Joseph F. Murphy, Frank W. Mayborn Chair and Associate Dean
Peabody College of Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
"Leading Together includes rich research-based stories, reflective activities to spark action, and optimistic evidence about what this needed shift in school hierarchies means for improving student outcomes. Don’t just read this; adopt it as your guidebook to become an even more influential leader."
P. Ann Byrd, COO & Partner
Center for Teaching Quality, Carrboro, NC
"Once again, Jon Eckert offers his straightforward, no nonsense thinking to busy practitioners. His authentic knowledge of everyday life in schools coupled with a thoughtful framework informs every chapter in this book. There are elements of his model that can be used right away...big shifts or little tweaks! His stories and humor make it readable (and meaningful!) for those of us seeking creative and collaborative ways to lead schools and districts."
Joan Dabrowski, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Wellesley Public Schools, Wellesley, MA
"A transformational dive into what it means to have genuine and powerful leadership in our education system, Leading Together will help open up dialogue around issues and topics that are paramount to system success. Although these topics are messy and complex, Dr. Eckert tackles them head on and with grace, understanding, and an authentic perspective that will have you wanting to take on the tough job of transforming our schools to better serve our ultimate client, students. As an instructor of pre-service educators, this will go on my syllabus as a must read."
"Once again, Jon Eckert offers his straightforward, no nonsense thinking to busy practitioners. In Leading Together, he implores readers to think beyond the typical roles and boundaries of leadership in order to improve results for students. His authentic knowledge of everyday life in schools coupled with a thoughtful framework informs every chapter in this book. There are elements of his model that can be used right away...big shifts or little tweaks! His stories and humor make it readable (and meaningful!) for those of us seeking creative and collaborative ways to lead schools and districts."
"This is the first book that I have read that provides an adaptable solution to building leadership capacity in schools. Readers will be empowered to recapture the profession through shared leadership. Dr. Eckert provides a perfect blend of research, resources, reflective questions, and real-school examples that grabs the readers’ interest. If you want to invest in human capital and improve leadership in your school or district this is the perfect book!"
"There are few books that promote uplifting the teaching profession like this one. If we desire to improve outcomes for all students and society as a whole, all educators must work together as they develop their leadership side by side and promote the work within the system."
"While many experts are calling for teachers to be leaders, this insightful analysis makes clear the often overlooked role that school and district leaders play in creating the cultural and systems that enable teacher leaders to play meaningful roles in school leadership."
