Great Principals Talk about “Getting It Done”

Posted by on December 04, 2011

The Education Trust presents its 2011-12 Webinar Series:
Great Principals Talk about “Getting It Done”

Dominated by low expectations, and lacking the collegiality and collective decision making required for high student achievement, low-performing schools can be demoralized places. So how can school leaders transform these environments into climates and cultures of high expectations and efficacy?

At 4 p.m. on December 8, two school leaders will talk with Karin Chenoweth and Christina Theokas about creating a culture and climate of high expectations for all children. The second installment in a six-part Ed Trust webinar series, this in-depth conversation will feature:

Deb Gustafson, principal, Ware Elementary School, Fort Riley, Kan.

In 2001, Ware Elementary School was one of the first schools in Kansas to be placed “on improvement,” a designation reflecting its serious discipline problems, morale problems, and low achievement. Years later, it was ranked as one of the top schools in the state, a status it continues to maintain. How did this school permeated by low expectations develop and sustain a culture and climate that ensured high achievement? Tune in to hear from the educator who led the change.

Conrad Lopes, former principal, Jack Britt High School, Fayetteville, N.C.; principal, Stratford High School, Goose Creek, S.C.

Conrad Lopes is the founding principal of Jack Britt High School, a large, integrated high school in Fayetteville, N.C.

One of the top-performing high schools in the state, Jack Britt has only a small gap in achievement between its black and white students. Lopes is now the principal of Stratford High School, which has narrowed its gaps since his arrival.

This webinar series is based on the new book by Karin Chenoweth and Christina Theokas which studies the beliefs and practices of principals at high-poverty schools that predominantly serve students of color and are rapidly improving or high achieving.

The book, Getting It Done: Leading Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (Harvard Education Press, 2011), builds on Chenoweth’s highly regarded work in It’s Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools (voted one of the top education books of the decade by Education Next) and How It’s Being Done: Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools. Each of the principals participating in this webinar series has led a school recognized by The Education Trust with its annual Dispelling the Myth Award.

Thanks to the generous support of The Wallace Foundation, The Education Trust is able to offer these webinars free of charge.

Register now: http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/edtrust/index.php