You Don’t Need Superpowers to Be a Kid’s Hero: Leading a Hero-Building School Culture

Create a culture and climate that produces real heroes The future of our schools depends on leaders who can foster every day heroism in others. This doesn’t require supernatural powers. It requires a willingness to be intentional in building heroes in our communities who are ready to get things done and take on the demands of the future.    You Don’t Need Superpowers to Be a Kid’s Hero will help you create the climate that produces these heroes. Hero-building work will help you look deeply into your school culture and see yourself and your students and staff in a fresh, powerful way. Readers will find: ·         Training ideas for leadership teams ·         Instruments for gauging progress ·         Practical steps for building courage into practices ·         Practical strategies to help navigate the complexities of creating an extraordinary school ·         Hero-building stories from the field Written with an inspiring tone, this book will empower school leaders to lead in a way that unleashes staff and students to be superheroes in their communities. 

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Chapter 1—Heroes in the Hallways Introduction Principal Makes House Calls Manufacturing Our Future Telling Your School’s Story Leading By Example Culture Wins Out! Authentic Leadership Heroes Are Built Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 2—Look Deep Inside: See What Students and Staff Really Bring to School The Invisible Backpack A Culture Of Relationships A Culture Of Resources A Culture Of Interventions A Culture Of Wisdom Seeing The Invisible Super Hearing And Dangerous Thoughts Gap Kids Hidden Strength Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 3—True to Life Leadership and Learning Lies We Tell Ourselves And Believe High Risk Means High Rewards Growth Challenge on FORWARD Rubric Failure Is An Option Hide Your Mistakes And Weaknesses Front Runners Win Settling Sustainability Consensus Innovation Is For Crazy People Leaders Must Be The Loudest Voice Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 4—Unleash the Voice and Choice of Students Is Your Hearing Good? School Reform Through Student Voice Social Media And Student Voice Letting Students Lead Gauge Your Student Voice Level Student Choice School Showcase Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 5—Lead Like an Alien: Out of This World Ideas to Produce Hero Students Break Down Historical Barriers Procrastinators Produce Bells Are Barriers Grades Matter Most Repetition Is Wrong Tradition Holds Us Down Homework Helps Think Differently Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 6—Build Resilience: Raise Your Grit Score WHADITW Perfection Before Action? Public Praiser This Too Will Pass The Distractor The Overbearing Octopus Passive Resistance Negative Self-talk Hero Solutions For Students Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 7—Go Big or Go Home: Empower Students to Be Global Game Changers! Shoes For Esperanza Give A Hand Kangaroo Cup Saddle Innovation Rain Garden Ocean Cleanup Think Big, Act Big Expand Your View Leading Big Hero Sighting Hero Training Chapter 8—Be Courageous: Risk It All for What’s Right Origin Stories Super Courageous Fortitude Courage To Be Authentic Courage To Ask For Help Courage To Be True Courageous Conversations Courage To Shatter The Status Quo Hero Sighting Hero Training References

About the Author :
Dr. Bill Ziegler is a high school principal in Pennsylvania. He was recently honored as the 2016 Pennsylvania Principal of the Year, the 2015 National Association of Secondary School Principals Digital Award Winner, and was selected to serve on the United States team of School Leaders to the Great Leaders Summit in China.  Dr. Ziegler has over 24 years of service in public education where he has served as a school leader for 20 years. Bill was recently selected to serve on the team to rewrite the NASSP/NAESP Breaking Ranks publications for school leaders.   He has served as a high school social studies teacher, high school assistant principal, middle school principal, and he currently serves as a high school principal. Bill also earned Apple Teacher certification and was recently selected to participate in an Apple Research Study for School Leaders.  Bill is honored to be part of the Corwin Consulting Team that provides high quality professional development to school leaders.  Dr. Ziegler also serves as an adjunct professor at Temple University in their Masters of Education department.  Bill is very active in his state; he served as the President of the Pennsylvania Principals Association in 2014 and 2016 and was honored to be selected as Treasurer and Southeast Regional Representative for the same association.  Dr. Ziegler presents regularly around the world on School Leadership.  He has presented at national conferences such as the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Association of Curriculum & Supervision Development, International Society for Technology in Education, and many more.  Bill spoke on Capitol Hill to lobby for better ERate coverage for schools throughout the United States.   Bill is the owner of Chase Learning (https://chaselearning.org), a private educational consulting firm designed to provide high quality and engaging professional development to strengthen school leaders throughout the United States.  Personally, Bill is married to his beautiful wife, Kim and they have two high school aged children.  Bill can often be found fly fishing in the streams of PA, cheering on his favorite Philly sports teams, or playing his saxophone. Watch Bill′s video Dave Ramage, Ph.D. has been a public school educator for 29 years. He spent eleven years as a middle school music teacher in grades six through nine at Souderton Area SD in suburban Philadelphia, and then became the Coordinator of Technology Staff Development for the same district. Dave moved to middle school administration as an assistant principal and principal. He currently leads Pottsgrove Middle School. Dave was a 2005 national finalist in the Technology Leaders award sponsored by Technology & Learning magazine. He has presented at conferences including PETE & C, NECC, and PASCD. Dr. Ramage has done adjunct teaching since 1998 for several universities including DeSales University, California University of Pennsylvania, and currently for Drexel University. He received his BS in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College, M.Ed. in Computers in Education from DeSales University, and Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Technology Learning from Drexel University. Dave and his wife Diane have three children who currently practice their lifelong learning in high school, college and graduate school. One of Dave’s favorite quotes is from Dennis Sparks who reminds us, “At school, everyone’s job is to learn.” Dave is excited to lead his staff and grow a learning community that improves instruction, innovates with technology, values critical thinking, and cares for the achievement of every student. Stories of student successes always find their roots in strong relationships and Dr. Ramage is humbled and blessed to be a partner in this vital work.

Review :
What an innovative approach to highlighting and demystifying the work we do as school leaders at all levels! If you’ve every dreamed of flying, having super strength, or being invisible, and you engage in the worthy work of building up young minds, this is the book for your. Bill Ziegler and Dave Ramage provide great examples and models for the best "super-hero" traits we have and use to make bold differences. Excelsior! Once again, Bill Ziegler and Dave Ramage have nourished the profession with a fearless and compelling compilation of anecdotes, strategies, rubrics, and inspiration that will benefit any school leader. Every child needs a hero and every child can be a hero. This work highlights real-life heroes in our schools and how to build heroes in students and teachers. Read these stories and engage these heroes on your social networks to build your encouragement network. I am most excited to take away and use their tools for increasing student voice and choice to make my school even better! In this deeply inspiring book, Ziegler and Ramage show educators how they can have a positive impact on all of the students in their schools. Superheroes are no longer just for movies; they are real people and have real stories illustrated in this book. Bill Ziegler and Dave Ramage have written a must-read book for today’s school leaders! Their commitment and dedication to creating positive cultures will inspire school leaders to make real life changes in their practice that impact staff, students, and the entire school community. They equip and empower you to build heroes in your schools to change our world for the better. Bill Ziegler and Dave Ramage remind us of what’s most important—our students. And they remind us of our ultimate purpose—inspiring and empowering those students to thrive. As Gandhi challenged us to "be the change we wish to see," Ziegler and Ramage challenge us with the reality that "leadership carries a moral purpose." We are changing lives! We are shaping the future! You Don’t Need Superpowers to Be a Kid’s Hero is immensely practical. It features the stories of school leaders who are doing the great work now! It is a handbook for school leaders everywhere who are committed to building cultures in their schools that allow their students to soar. Ziegler and Ramage continue to up the leadership ante with their latest book, You Don’t Need Superpowers to Be a Kid’s Hero. Another book for the leader in all of us, it hits on key needle-moving points about the need for relationship, innovation, and voice and choice for our learners. The voice and choice chapter forces educators to include our kids in decisions. This book talks empowerment! In these chapters you will find practical pieces to implement from the ones that know the current vibe of education—practitioners! The book also has great tools for reflection that helps us to ask the tough questions of why and how. You Don’t Need Superpowers to Be a Kid’s Hero is empowering and practical. Ramage and Ziegler write from a place of deep credibility and their latest take on servant leadership is sure to inspire. To top it off, the vast cadre of school leaders they feature will not only help you hone in on your why, but they will help you with your how—making this one of the most actionable school leadership titles I’ve seen. Real heroes shatter the status quo and build cultures where students and staff are loved and supported each day. In this inspiring book, Bill Ziegler and Dave Ramage share stories of successful hero-builders who inspire us to change the world, one kid at a time. If you want to live up to your hero status, read this book and implement the powerful practice in your school immediately. Your students and staff will thank you! The world of education is hard. It is sometimes difficult to find the positives in what we do. Although I do not believe that any educator gets into education to be a superhero, I think educators need to see how our work is extraordinary—not because we set out to be extraordinary but because we find our work meaningful, personal, and rewarding. This book highlights practical ideas from people working in the field of education. It calls attention to some of the little things that have made incredible impacts on their students, schools, and communities. Bill Ziegler and Dave Ramage have done an outstanding job helping to remind educators of why they became educators, inspired people to some new perspectives, offered encouragement, and given us a call to action that our superpowers are making a difference in the lives of our students every day. In the busy world of the principalship, leaders must realize the power within themselves to design and implement strategies that capitalize on the strengths of the school community. In their book, You Don’t Need Superpowers to Be a Kid’s Hero: Leading a Hero- Building School Culture, Ziegler and Ramage’s concept of Hero Sightings, Hero Training, and Hero Simulations is a genius way to put practical strategies in the hands of school leaders through reflective activities at the end of each chapter. A true resource for principals who believe in their powers to transform their school community.