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7 Mindshifts for School Leaders
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7 Mindshifts for School Leaders
Finding New Ways to Think About Old Problems

First Edition

Foreword by Joe Sanfelippo


Courses:
School Culture

October 2022 | 232 pages | Corwin

With the right approach, no problem is unsolvable.

How do you approach and solve problems in education that have been around so long that they just feel…normal? Perpetual issues—numeracy, reading ability, equity, grading, and teacher retention—are often continually managed, but not solved like the crises they are for future sustainability.

This innovative guide introduces seven mindshifts that will help you engage with your community, access diverse resources, embrace radical new ideas, create equity, and chart a course of school improvement to solve those “unsolvable issues” so that your students and teachers learn and grow. Features include

  • Seven adaptable models—one per mindshift—for finding your own solutions to perennial problems
  • Stories highlighting the successful implementation of each mindshift
  • Discussions to help you match mindshifts to particular problems
  • Technical tips and reflection questions

Persistent problems in education can only be solved if we approach them as the crises that they are. This book gives you the tools you need to become a new kind of school leader—one empowered to not just deal with the outcomes of perennial complex issues, but extinguish them altogether so that your students can thrive.


 
Foreword by Joe Sanfelippo
 
Preface: From Flawed Thinking to New Mental Shifts
 
Introduction: Finding New Ways to Think About Old Problems
 
Mental Shift #1: Leading with a Crisis Mindset
 
Mental Shift #2: Leading with a Battleground Mentality
 
Mental Shift #3: Leading With a Beginner’s Mind
 
Mental Shift #4: Leading with an Octopus Approach
 
Mental Shift #5: Leading with a Disciplined Tunnel Vision
 
Mental Shift #6: Leading with a Yes, And Attitude
 
Mental Shift #7: Leading with a Go With What Is Known Response
 
Conclusion: Leading to Maximize Disruption

As our world changes, we must also change the way we think about leading, teaching, and learning. 7 Mindshifts for School Leaders offers practical strategies for how to make meaningful change to positively impact school communities for the better. This is a must-read book for all school leaders.

Starr Sackstein
Mastery Portfolio, LLC
Oceanside, NY

7 Mindshifts for School Leaders is a stand-out game-changer! Hamilton, Jones, and Vari offer real-time ideas and examples to support you with current leadership strategies. They provide a blueprint for implementing effective change to bolster student achievement.

Matthew X. Joseph
X-Factor EDU
Boston, MU

Hamilton, Jones, and Vari empower school leaders to craft new solutions for age-old problems. This framework is an inspiring pathway and highly doable. Each new lens offered is complemented with a plethora of relatable examples, strategies, and resources.

Aubrey Patterson
Warm Demanders Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The seven mindshifts shared by Hamilton, Jones, and Vari give current and upcoming school leaders a fresh way to think about the unique problems their schools are facing. The easy-to-read format offers the models and mindsets school leaders need to develop solutions to issues such as classroom management, achievement gaps, teacher retention, and more. It is a must-read for all leaders.

Nathan Maynard
the Restorative Group
Indianapolis, IN

In 7 Mindshifts for School Leaders, Connie, Joe, and TJ lay the foundation for how leaders of the next generation will need to think differently to effect change and impact our schools. Reading this book is the first step in creating the mindsets needed to fight decades-old battles in education. Let’s start the revolution!

Salome Thomas-EL
Wilmington, DE

I love a book that is unabashedly deep. 7 Mindshifts is brimming with new insights and ideas for action. Each of the mindshifts is unique and rich with analysis and directional solutions. Take time with each mindshift. Savour it in its own right. Each one is a change theory on its own. The seven together cross-cut and stimulate more ideas about how we might find new ways to think about old problems in education.

Michael Fullan
OISE/University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We exponentially increase our chances of solving the vast challenges facing education when we adopt a crisis mindset. Enough with planning and strategizing! 7 Mindshifts for School Leaders is an all hands on deck call to action.

Daniel Bauer
Better Leaders Better Schools
Syracuse, NY

Hamilton, Jones, and Vari re-define what we mean by crisis and explain the mindsets needed for effective school leadership. Their ambition is no less than to solve persistent, fundamental problems in education. This book should sit on school leaders’ desks with many dog-eared pages and highlighted sections. It leads educators to the right place to start and the methods to sustain the positive changes all students desperately need.

S. David Brazer
Brazer Education Consulting
Petaluma, CA
Key features
  • Seven mindshifts that offer a fresh perspective and novel approaches to finding solutions to perennial problems in education
  • Seven models – one for each mindshift. These models will help school leaders move faster and more successfully toward their own solutions to persistent problems
  • Stories outside of education that highlight the successful implementation of each mindshift
  • Discussions of how each mindshift might be applied to a particular perennial problem in education
  • Each chapter includes a Technical Tip to help school leaders get started in applying the mindshift to their school leadership role
  • End of chapter reflection questions
  • A concluding chapter that illustrates what it might look like if a school leader applied all 7 mindshifts in one school setting

Sample Materials & Chapters

Frontmatter

CH01-Introduction

CH02-Mindshift 1


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