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A laser-beam focus on improving instruction to improve learning!
If we want to change how students write, compute, and think, then
teachers must transform the old “assign-and-assess” model into
engaging, coherent, and rigorous instruction. The authors show
school leaders how to make this happen amidst myriad distractions,
initiatives, and interruptions. Unlike other books that stop at evaluating teachers and instruction, this work demonstrates how to grow schools’ instructional capacities with a three-step process that involves:
(1) Envisioning what good teaching looks like
(2) Measuring the quality of current instruction against this standard
(3) Working relentlessly to move the quality of instruction closer and closer to the ideal

This book is for principals who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do what it takes to create lasting school improvement. Drawing on 35 years of experience as a teacher and principal, Alan Jones offers a powerful new vision for our troubled school systems—a prescription for the development of Strong Instructional Leaders. Jones describes the challenges administrators face and then lays out a plan for moving beyond keeping up appearances and daily routines to having a meaningful impact on student learning and achievement. His plan shows administrators how to respect the abilities of teachers and students while building staff investment in a shared instructional worldview. Representing an important next step in school reform, this inspirational book:
  • Analyzes the failure of our schools to help students grow intellectually, socially, and emotionally, and provides the foundation for change.
  • Juxtaposes two paradigms of instructional leadership, the traditional one that defines school leadership as a management function versus another that views school leadership as an educational function.
  • Describes the process and the qualities necessary to become a Strong Instructional Leader.

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https://www.amazon.com/Living-Your-School-Mission-Statement/dp/1475862911/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=living+up+to+your+school+mission&qid=1630787484&s=books&sr=1-2


“School leaders devote a great deal of time attending to the managerial routines of the organization without regard to how these routines might advance the mission of the school. As Alan C. Jones reports in Living Up to Your School Mission Statement, when preoccupied by managerial duties, school leaders seldom pursue intentionally the high-minded goals identi- fied in a school’s mission statement. With this important book, Jones notes differences across managing, leading, and championing. He illustrates graphically how the preoccupations in the main office and the practices in the classroom often proceed without regard to what a mission statement identifies as the central endeavors of the school. For the committed school leader, Jones identifies a pathway for moving beyond recurring managerial tasks and devoting energies to the pursuit of the significant goals that a community has embraced as the mission of a school.”

—Thomas M. McCann, professor, Northern Illinois University

“A definite reminder that mission statements are a big driver of positive outcomes for schools. Develop your statement and keep it relevant. Live your statement in everything you do, especially in the delivery of class- room instruction. This book is a must-read!”

Robert J. Madonia, EdD, retired school superintendent, school board consultant and university adjunct professor

“Living Up to Your School Mission Statement is a challenge to educa- tors who believe more is possible, even as they wonder if they’re strong enough to swim upstream against the educational status quo. Those courageous enough to follow Jones’ lead will be empowered, emboldened, and invigorated. So will their school communities.”

—Jeremy Ekeler, Nebraska Catholic Conference, Associate Director of Education Policy

I was blessed to have Dr. Jones as a professor because every class was PRACTICAL. Jones kept it real, never sugar-coated, and always impressed on us that the goal was bigger than managing a building – it was about impacting the learning of students.
Upon recently getting my first administrative job I rushed to Amazon for his book. I wasn’t disappointed – it was like being back in class. Yet one thing struck me – what was once conceptual to me (especially diversions) was now my every day reality because almost everyone sees the principal’s desk as two things: 1. A place to drop their worries, 2. A place for meetings about schedules, shirt colors, hallway wax types, and myriad other items that have almost no connection to LEARNING.
Jones was right again…
And again…
Being a principal is hard and lonely. This book is like a friend – when I lose faith or meet resistance – which is often, and from many directions – I run back to Becoming SIL. I realize the fight is worth it. I read this book cover to cover…then in chunks…then bought copies for friends and other colleagues I felt had the tools but not the direction.
I will continue to read this book, write on/about this book, visit it for nuggets – it is dense, it is challenging, it is even frustrating at times. But like the job, it is worth it.

Jeremy Ekeler, former student

“Finally a book that really gets inside the deep, human meaning of what it means to become an instructional leader. From someone who has lived it, but who also sees the big picture, Becoming a Strong Instructional Leader is insightful, practical, and uplifting. ‘Be an instructional leader not an instructional manager,’ says Jones. And then he shows us what this means, philosophically and strategically.”

Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto

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SHIFT #4: How we Organize: Beyond Command to Collaboration

by Alan Jones

      The fourth shift school leaders must undertake is HOW THEY ORGANIZE THEIR OFFICES. Presently, main and central offices employ a command and control organizational structure. To best prepare our students for the digital world of work, school leaders “must beyond being directors that receive and give instructions up and down a vertical hierarchy to … Continue reading SHIFT #4: How we Organize: Beyond Command to Collaboration

Shift 2: How to Create Value: Being Brutally Honest

by Alan Jones

      The second shift school leaders must undertake is HOW TO CREATE VALUE. Presently, main and central offices preoccupy themselves with the implementation function. The goal being adding programs or activities or structures or amenities that will set their school apart from other schools in their area.       To accommodate the digital working … Continue reading Shift 2: How to Create Value: Being Brutally Honest

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