ASCD Book: How to Create a Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom

How to Create a Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom

Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, & Ian Pumpian

About This Book

What does it feel like to walk into your school? Is it a welcoming place, where everyone feels valued? Most school improvement efforts focus on academic goals. But sometimes what can make or break your learning community are the intangibles--the relationships and connections that make up its culture. Authors Fisher, Frey, and Pumpian believe that no school improvement effort will be effective unless school culture is addressed. They identify five pillars that are critical to building a culture of achievement:

Welcome: Imagine if all staff members in your school considered it their job to make every student, parent, and visitor feel noticed, welcomed, and valued.
Do no harm: Your school rules should be tools for teaching students to become the moral and ethical citizens you expect them to be.
Choice words: When the language students hear helps them see their own possibility and potential, students perform in ways that are consistent with that language.
It’s never too late to learn: Can you push students to go beyond the minimum needed to get by, to discover what they are capable of achieving?
Best school in the universe: Is your school the best place to teach and learn?

Drawing on their years of experience in the classroom, the authors explain how these pillars support good teaching and learning. In addition, they provide 19 action research tools that will help you create a culture of achievement, so that your school or classroom is the best it can be.

After reading this book, you’ll see why culture makes the difference between a school that enables success for all students and a school that merely houses those students during the school day.

See the book's table of contents and read excerpts.

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Book Details

Table of Contents

Study Guide

Product No:
111014

ISBN-13:
978-1-4166-1408-1

Availability:
May 2012

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Reviews

"If a school leader—or better yet, a school staff—takes this book and uses it as a catalyst to create dialogue around what the school culture is and what it can be, then I believe it could have a profound impact on the real learning that takes place every day."

—Gerald W. Aungst, supervisor of gifted and elementary mathematics, Elkins Park, Pa.
This review first appeared on GeraldAungst.com.

"Many of the suggestions are easy to implement and should be present in any well-run organization. ... [The book] is primarily aimed at the building level, although it could spark valuable discussions at the district level. Central office staff may want to discuss how the pillars apply to the culture of the district and how principals can be assisted in improving the culture in their respective buildings."

—Leonard H. Elovitz, associate professor of educational leadership, Kean University, Union, N.J.
Reprinted with permission from the November 2012 issue of
School Administrator magazine, published by the American Association
of School Administrators.

About the Authors

DOUGLAS FISHER is a professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is a member of the California Reading Hall of Fame and is the recipient of a Celebrate Literacy Award from the International Reading Association, the Farmer Award for Excellence in Writing from the National Council of Teachers of English, and a Christa McAuliffe Award for Excellence in Teacher Education from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He has published numerous articles on improving student achievement, and his books include The Purposeful Classroom, Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention, Checking for Understanding, and Content-Area Conversations.