Leadership for Resilient Schools and Communities

In this updated edition ofaLeadership for Resilient Schools and Communities, resiliency experts Mike M. Milstein and Doris Annie Henry build on their groundbreaking strategies used in districts across the country and offer newainformation onaleadership resiliency.aPacked withagraphic organizers and tools, and providing a resource guide, this is an invaluable reference for school leaders serious about resiliency efforts.

Table of Contents:
Dedication List of Tables and Figures List of Handouts Foreword by Richard A. Schmuck Foreword to the First Edition by Paul D. Houston Preface Organization of the Book About the Authors Part I. Basic Concepts 1. Resiliency: Promoting Everyone’s Potential to Succeed Why the Urgency? An Introduction to Resiliency The Problem With Problem Solvers 2. Building Resilient Communities Why Community Development and Resiliency Traditional Ways of Thinking About Community Three Realities of Community: Rural, Urban, and Suburban Visualizing the Resilient Community Leadership Activities for Building a Resilient Community: Where Do We Start? Part II. Resiliency for Everyone 3. Student Resiliency: Building a Base for Positive Living What Are the Problems That Youth Face? Changing Our Mind Maps: From Deficits to Potentials Student Resiliency: The Community and School’s Responsibilities Leadership Strategies That Promote Student Resiliency Bringing It All Together as an Overall Resiliency-Building Approach 4. Educator Resiliency: Nurturing the Nurturers Resiliency Pathways and Educators’ Performance Over Their Career Span The Ability of Educators to Perform Well Over Time: Coping With Plateauing The Impact of the School Environment on Educator Resiliency Strategies to Overcome School-Based Barriers to Educator Resiliency 5. School Resiliency: Creating Supportive Environments for Students, Educators, and Communities Does Your School Support Resiliency? Improving School Resiliency Means Changing Schools Backwards Planning School Resiliency-Building Strategies 6. Community Resiliency: Developing Partnerships Building Relationships Between Schools and Their Communities Communities With Characteristics of Resiliency Community Support Is Needed for School Resiliency School Support Is Needed for Community Resiliency From Reactive to Proactive Community Relationships Strategies for Improving Community Resiliency Part III. Making It Happen for Schools & Communities 7. Leading Resiliency Development Initiatives: Strategies for Managing and Assessing Change Bringing It All Together and Leading Resiliency Development Initiatives The Four Stages of Change Group Development Leadership Needs Facilitation Skills Assessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation 8. School and Community Resiliency Initiatives A Reality Perspective Communities on the Forefront of Improvement In Closing Resource A: Handouts References Index

About the Author :
Mike M. Milstein is a partner in The Resiliency Group, Ltd., and Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership at the University of New Mexico. His professional career also includes being Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Buffalo and a classroom teacher. His teaching, research, and writing interests are in the areas of resiliency and organiza­tional change and development. He has been actively engaged in school and community resiliency development efforts in such places as Nelson, New Zealand, Ashland, Oregon; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Shelby County, Tennessee. The resil­iency initiatives he has facilitated include classroom instruction and cur­riculum improvement efforts, school wide activities that enhance the resil­iency of educators, and school-community partnerships that support resiliency development for both children and adults. He has written 11 books, including coauthoring Resiliency in Schools (2002; 1996). Doris “Annie” Henry is a partner in The Resiliency Group, Ltd., and retired Pro­fessor of Educational Leadership. Her research and writing interests focus on resiliency, restructuring, change, organization development, and school improvement. Her work with developing resiliency efforts includes Nelson, New Zealand, Ashland, Oregon; Tennessee State Department of Education; and Memphis, Tennessee. She has facili­tated resiliency at the classroom, school-wide, and community-school part­nership levels. Currently she is the National President of the New Zealand Educational Administration and Leadership Society (NZEALS), and serves on 10 international, national and local boards. Her professional career includes being Professor of Educa­tional Leadership at New Mexico Highlands University, the University of Memphis, and at the University of Nebraska at Omaha; an elementary school principal for nearly a decade in Arizona and Oklahoma, and a classroom teacher. She has published and presented widely in her areas of interest, most notably as coauthor of the national study, Becoming a Superintendent: Challenges of School District Leadership (1997).

Review :
"Building a foundation of resiliency will help schools and communities strengthen their futures. Milstein and Henry establish an excellent set of guiding principles. Every educational administrator needs to read and reflect upon this important work." "The book provides a wide selection of practical and user-friendly tools and strategies for understanding the meaning and importance of resiliency. A must for teachers, school leaders, boards of trustees, and parents concerned about the well-being of their schools and communities." "Contains an excellent combination of theory and practice concerning resiliency. The conversational style and practical ideas are very useful in helping me as a leader get my head around making the transition from textbook to school and community reality." "In a world that continues to offer new challenges to students′ and adults′ sense of personal and professional well-being and commitment to community, this highly practical yet deeply thoughtful book is a must-read, must-use for leaders in schools, communities, and businesses. No other book in the field of resiliency manages to combine the deep thought and practical wisdom of its authors in such a powerful way." "The resiliency work within our school allowed staff to identify their individual strengths, which then contributed to the collective power of the team by building avenues for quality communication within our professional community." "Milstein and Henry have done policy makers and education practitioners an enormous service by developing the concept of resiliency—the capacity to adapt in the face of adversity—as a practical way of engaging communities in school improvement." "The authors provide strategies that educators, leaders, and students need to cope with life′s challenges and make the most of life′s possibilities." "Milstein and Henry have given us a blueprint to create schools and communities that will spread resiliency in young people. The book is a guide for making schools and communities healthier places, and it shows how to create an environment that will produce healthier adults and children. It is not merely a call to action, but a primer for making it happen." "With this achievement of a book, Milstein and Henry offer both a clear rationale for advocating resiliency as a goal and a practical guide for progressing on the path toward resiliency." “A practical, powerful guide to creating healthier school environments, offering an interactive workbook format packed with successful strategies.”