Innovation

Technology is awesome. Teachers are better. Blending new technologies into instruction is a non-negotiable if we are to help our students gain the skills they’ll need to thrive in careers. And so too is educators’ old school wisdom in planning intentional blended learning that works. Too often, sincere enthusiasm for technologies pushes proven instructional strategies to the wayside, all but guaranteeing blended learning that is all show and no go.

Bold School is a book that restores teachers to their rightful place in effective instruction. Bold School thinkers embrace Blended pedagogies and Old school wisdom. In Bold School, teachers are put back into the blended learning equation. Blended learning is demystified and distilled into the powerful, yet simple Bold School Framework for Strategic Blended Learning™—a methodology to help you meld purposeful technology use with your old school wisdom to enhance instruction and learning. After all, the goal of blended learning isn’t technology—it’s student achievement. With a Bold School mindset, every teacher is capable of finally delivering on the promise of blended learning.

Digital leadership is a strategic mindset and set of behaviors that leverages resources to create a meaningful, transparent, and engaging school culture. It takes into account recent changes such as ubiquitous connectivity, open-source technology, mobile devices, and personalization to dramatically shift how schools have been run and structured for over a century. Leading in education becomes exponentially powerful when using technology to your advantage.

Eric Sheninger―"Principal Twitter"―shares his Pillars of Digital Leadership to help readers

• Transform school culture by initiating sustainable change
• Use free social media tools to improve communication, enhance public relations, and create a positive brand presence
• Integrate digital tools into the classroom to increase student engagement and achievement
• Facilitate professional learning and access new opportunities and resources

The time is now, whether you are a building level or teacher leader, to boldly move schools forward in the digital age.

A practical and entertaining volume, Cage-Busting Leadership will be of profound interest and value to school and district leaders—and to everyone with a stake in school improvement.

Rick Hess aptly describes his aims at the start of this provocative book: "I believe that two things are true. It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulations, contracts, and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and system leaders to drive improvement and, well, lead. However, it is also the case that leaders have far more freedom to transform, reimagine, and invigorate teaching, learning, and schooling than is widely believed.”

In his travels across the country, Rick Hess has met school and system leaders who have shared stories about evading, blasting through, or reshaping unnecessary and counterproductive constraints. Drawing on these stories, and with his sharp eye, Hess shows current and aspiring leaders how they can cultivate and sustain powerful cultures of teaching and learning.