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All Together Now
Foreword by Ken Kay
Intended to promote and provoke conversations inside and outside schools, this practical guide inspires educators to embark on the challenging work ahead in re-imagining schools.
- Grade Level: PreK-12
- ISBN: 9781506350127
- Published By: Corwin
- Year: 2017
- Page Count: 224
- Publication date: May 18, 2018
Price: $39.95
Review Copies
Description
A framework to reimagine schools for the 21st century
Education is evolving rapidly. To sustain change, school communities need broad support for shifts in teaching and learning that promise better outcomes for learners. This requires collaborative inquiry and hard conversations involving everyone with a stake in student success. Designed to promote and provoke conversations inside and outside schools, All Together Now will inspire educators and fellow stakeholders to embark on the challenging work ahead.
Readers will find a clear, four-part framework that will help them navigate the journey by understanding
- Why they should build common understanding about change
- How to move from vision to reality
- The What-ifs of troubleshooting strategies
- The power of The Future Story to move forward with optimism
With compelling examples from schools on the leading edge of change, this practical guide will take readers from talking about the future of learning to realizing their community’s vision.
"School innovation is a subject that should concern all of us - students, educators, parents, community members. Suzie Boss has created a wonderful guide for all of us to think deeply, reflect critically, and act decisively to make schools better for all of us who need them."
Chris Lehmann, Founding Principal and Author of Building School 2.0
Science Leadership Academy
"This is a clear blueprint for real change in modern schools. A variety of frameworks including PBL, design thinking, making, student leadership, and parent empowerment are illustrated with examples from real schools and stellar advice from educators. Educators on the road to remaking their schools into better learning spaces should take this book with them on the journey."
Sylvia Martinez, co-author of Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom
"There have been many good books on the case for 21st century learning and schools, but only a rare handful on how to engage your stakeholders and community to bring that transformation to your own school or district. Fortunately, education writer and consultant Suzie Boss takes up that challenge and shares the stories of real-world school transformers and school transformations from around the world."
Bob Pearlman, District Consultant
21st Century School, Tucson, AZ
Key features
This book prompts readers to make their own meaning by considering a series of questions about what and how school should be.. Abundant examples and case studies from the frontlines of school change provide inspiration and ideas you can adopt or adapt for your context. Discussion prompts are included to promote and provoke conversations—both inside and outside school—with everyone who has a stake in student success (including students themselves). Working together, through collaborative inquiry and hard conversations, you will arrive at your best answers for how schools should adapt for your context and your children.
Special Features
Throughout the book, special features are included to help guide your inquiry.
· Worth Asking: Each chapter includes questions intended to prompt individual reflection or spark group discussions about featured case studies and other examples of creative community outreach. Most chapters include at least two “Worth Asking” sidebars. Share your responses with a broader community on Twitter by adding the hashtag #alltogethernow.
· Crib Sheet: Short, jargon-free summaries of key terms are included to ensure that everyone is talking the same language about current trends in education. Along with brief definitions, you’ll find links for additional resources and hashtags to connect with communities of practice.
· Try This: Watch for practical ideas that are ready to borrow or adapt. “Try This” suggestions challenge readers to apply specific activities or outreach strategies that other schools have found to be beneficial.
* Web Resources
Author(s)
Suzie Boss
Suzie Boss is a writer and educational consultant who focuses on the power of teaching and learning to improve lives and transform communities. She is the author of 10 popular books for educators, most recently Project Based Teaching: How to Create Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences and Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age, 3rd Ed. She collaborated with award-winning teacher Stephen Ritz to tell his inspiring story about classroom innovation in The Power of a Plant. A regular contributor to Edutopia, PBLWorks National Faculty emeritus, and frequent conference presenter, she consults with schools and nonprofit organizations around the world interested in shifting to a more student-centered, innovative approach to teaching and learning. Active on social media (@suzieboss), she maintains a website at suzieboss.com.
Table of Contents
Part I: THE WHY
1.. Are we ready for disruption?
2. How will we engage the willing?
Part II: THE HOW
3. How do forward-looking school leaders take charge of change?
4. How will we support teachers as they become 21st century educators?
5. How can we amplify student voice?
6. How will we engage families as partners in school change?
7. Who else will join us?
Part III: THE WHAT-IF
8. Addressing Challenges and Building Momentum
Part IV: THE FUTURE STORY
9. How will we share our story about the future of learning?
10. What are your next steps?
Reviews
"A major strength is the nature of the journey through which the author takes the reader that builds passion and a can-do spirit along the path. This should be required reading for all who participate in the education profession and highly encouraged for anyone interested in the future of our world."Judith A. Rogers, Education Consultant
Associates for Educational Success, Tuscon AZ
"If you’ve stayed awake at night wondering how to create innovative education to meet the learning needs of today’s students and their families, worry no more! The author presents a broad range of current instructional trends in a practical, engaging way with useful questions for further thought."
Virginia E. Kelsen, Executive Director, Career Readiness"If you’ve stayed awake at night wondering how to create innovative education to meet the learning needs of today’s students and their families, worry no more! The author presents a broad range of current instructional trends in a practical, engaging way with useful questions for further thought."
Chaffey Joint Union High School District, Ontario CA
"All Together Now provides rich examples of innovative practices taking place in innovative schools and districts. Educators looking to transform student learning will gain insight on how to implement these ideas in the classroom."Winston Sakurai, Upper School Principal
Hanalani Schools, Mililani HI
"School innovation is a subject that should concern all of us - students, educators, parents, community members. Suzie Boss has created a wonderful guide for all of us to think deeply, reflect critically, and act decisively to make schools better for all of us who need them."Chris Lehmann, Founding Principal and Author of Building School 2.0
Science Leadership Academy
"You won't find a better guide to the numerous and wide-ranging school improvement strategies out there than in All Together Now!"Larry Ferlazzo, educator, author, and Education Week teacher advice columnist
"This is a clear blueprint for real change in modern schools. A variety of frameworks including PBL, design thinking, making, student leadership, and parent empowerment are illustrated with examples from real schools and stellar advice from educators. Educators on the road to remaking their schools into better learning spaces should take this book with them on the journey."Sylvia Martinez, co-author of Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom
"There have been many good books on the case for 21st century learning and schools, but only a rare handful on how to engage your stakeholders and community to bring that transformation to your own school or district. Fortunately, education writer and consultant Suzie Boss takes up that challenge and shares the stories of real-world school transformers and school transformations from around the world."
Bob Pearlman, District Consultant"There have been many good books on the case for 21st century learning and schools, but only a rare handful on how to engage your stakeholders and community to bring that transformation to your own school or district. Fortunately, education writer and consultant Suzie Boss takes up that challenge and shares the stories of real-world school transformers and school transformations from around the world."
21st Century School, Tucson, AZ
"In All Together Now, Suzie Boss brings clarity and real-world examples for those seeking inspiration and solutions to build K-12 schools much needed for the twenty-first century. This book puts your finger on the pulse of the best examples of schools that help our students gain the skills to meet future challenges and opportunities."Cindy Johanson, Executive Director
Edutopia
"Boss surveys the bewildering landscape of school initiatives and helps the reader identify key features they can adopt and adapt to improve their community’s schools. She illuminates complex ideas with concrete examples from exemplary schools in the U.S. and abroad. This is a school transformation guide suitable for all stakeholders."
David Ross, CEO"Boss surveys the bewildering landscape of school initiatives and helps the reader identify key features they can adopt and adapt to improve their community’s schools. She illuminates complex ideas with concrete examples from exemplary schools in the U.S. and abroad. This is a school transformation guide suitable for all stakeholders."
Partnership for 21st Century Learning
"I love Suzie's new book because it tackles the challenge of how to rally educators, parents, community members, and students around new visions of learning and teaching. Like her previous books, this one is rooted in the concrete strategies and techniques that numerous schools are using to create deeper, more engaging—and, yes, more successful—learning environments for children. If you're a transformational educator or policymaker who is looking for models and exemplars, use this book to learn from some of the most interesting, visionary schools in the world and inspire your own change processes."
Dr. Scott McLeod, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Founding Director"I love Suzie's new book because it tackles the challenge of how to rally educators, parents, community members, and students around new visions of learning and teaching. Like her previous books, this one is rooted in the concrete strategies and techniques that numerous schools are using to create deeper, more engaging—and, yes, more successful—learning environments for children. If you're a transformational educator or policymaker who is looking for models and exemplars, use this book to learn from some of the most interesting, visionary schools in the world and inspire your own change processes."
CASTLE, University of Colorado Denver
"All Together Now should be required reading for school, district and community leaders as well as aspiring leaders in graduate school programs. Suzie Boss uses her amazing story telling and journalistic talents to highlight the communities, districts, schools and programs that are pointing the way for the future of learning. Boss uses straightforward language to lay out the challenges and potential solutions for educator and community leaders to work together toward preparing students for success in the 21st Century workplace and society. All Together Now is rich with suggested resources for those who are inspired to act. Facts, stories and resources - this book is a one stop inspirational tool for education and community leaders."
Bob Lenz, Executive Director"All Together Now should be required reading for school, district and community leaders as well as aspiring leaders in graduate school programs. Suzie Boss uses her amazing story telling and journalistic talents to highlight the communities, districts, schools and programs that are pointing the way for the future of learning. Boss uses straightforward language to lay out the challenges and potential solutions for educator and community leaders to work together toward preparing students for success in the 21st Century workplace and society. All Together Now is rich with suggested resources for those who are inspired to act. Facts, stories and resources - this book is a one stop inspirational tool for education and community leaders."
Buck Institute, Novato, CA