Becoming a Great High School

Book excerpt: What will it take to move your high school to the next level? In Becoming a Great High School, former principal Tim Westerberg emphasizes that significant improvement in any high school must start with improving the quality of instruction in the classroom. But the isolated efforts of individual teachers aren't enough. If your school is functioning like "a collection of educational entrepreneurs held together by a common parking lot," it's time for teachers and administrators to work together and pursue comprehensive, coordinated strategies that will help all students succeed. Westerberg's 6+1 Model for High School Reform shows how high-achieving schools maintain success and identifies what other schools can do to achieve similar results: * Adopt a we-expect-success attitude. * Develop clear instructional goals. * Implement effective instruction. * Use frequent formative assessment. * Track student progress. * Provide timely intervention for struggling students. * Celebrate student success. Westerberg provides comprehensive research on high school reform from leading education experts, candid examples from his 26 years as a principal, and thought-provoking insights from other high school leaders who have taken up the call to improve their schools. If you're ready to take your high school to the next level, this book will give you the tools and strategies to make the leap and create a school that enables all students to reach their full potential.