Assn/Supervision & Curric. Dev.

Align the design; a blueprint for school improvement.

Consultant Mooney and school administrator Mausbach combine forces to describe how to move away from the merely fashionable and toward sustainable results. They focus on coordinating essential school improvement processes to work together, covering effective curriculum, data-driven research, successful school improvement plans, professional development sessions and workshops, efficient supervisory techniques, and fostering leadership for school improvement. They include personal narratives based on their recollections, texts they have found inspirational, and templates to use. They also include checklists, tips and essential questions posed by the text. The result could work well as a text in graduate-level education classes, in self-study, or as a professional reference. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Differentiated literacy coaching; scaffolding for student and teacher success.

Moran (senior literacy specialist, State University of New York-College at Oneonta) presents solutions for meeting the diverse needs of literacy coaches and their charges. She reviews key considerations that school leaders and literacy coaches must keep in mind when determining program focus and scope, and describes the roles, responsibilities, and procedures involved in each coaching format. The guidelines she offers are based on research findings, exemplary coaching programs, and insights from her 30 years as an educator. At the heart of the book is the Literacy Coaching Continuum, a series of professional learning formats that coaches can use alone or in combination. Readers will also find more than a dozen modules for coaches' professional development, including recommended materials and step-by-step procedures to help both new and experienced coaches. Lists of print and online resources are also included. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Managing diverse classrooms; how to build on students' cultural strengths.

How does the home culture of Latino immigrant students differ from the mainstream culture of US schools? Why is it important for teachers to understand the difference? How can educators take advantage of students' cultural traits to improve classroom management, student performance, and school-parent relations? Rothstein-Fisch (educational psychology, California State University) and Trumbull, an educational consultant, answer these and other questions by drawing on the experiences of teachers who participated in the Bridging Cultures Project, a five-year action research study of elementary classrooms with high percentages of immigrant students. The authors present a simple framework for understanding cultural differences, and describe teacher-developed strategies that capitalize on the cultural values these students and their families offer, such as emphasis on sharing, helping, and the success of the group. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)