Building School Culture One Week at a Time

by Jeffrey Zoul

Overview

Use Friday Focus memos to motivate and engage your staff every week, and help create a school culture focused on the growth of students and teachers.

Easy to understand and implement, Friday Focus memos offer an effective and efficient way to improve student learning, staff development, and school culture from within. Written by educational consultant and former principal of two award-winning schools, Jeffrey Zoul, these memos focus on topics such as active learning, high expectations, gratitude, test preparation, and more. Zoul provides 37 teaching and learning memos, one for each week of the school year, for principals and other administrators to reproduce and circulate among their staff.

Zoul prefaces each memo with stories from his experiences as a teacher, coach, and assistant principal in the K-12 levels. You can also write your own memos, with guidance on possible topics and teacher takeaways. Other memo topics include:

• The heart of coaching
• A community of leaders
• Homework perspectives
• Response to intervention basics
• Principles of great teaching

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596671430
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/03/2010
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Dr. Jeff Zoul is a School Improvement Consultant with Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to serving in this capacity, Dr. Zoul served as principal at two award-wining schools, Edgewood Middle School, in Highland Park, Illinois, and Otwell Middle School in Forsyth County, Georgia. In addition to his work as a principal, Dr. Zoul has served as a teacher, coach, and assistant principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Dr. Zoul also served as an adjunct professor of graduate studies at North Georgia College and State University. He is the author of Improving Your School One Week at a Time: Building the Foundation for Professional Teaching and Learning, coauthor with Dr. Todd Whitaker of The 4 CORE School Success Factors, and coauthor of Cornerstones of Strong Schools: Practices for Purposeful Leadership and Study Guide: What Great Principals Do Differently: 15 Things that Matter Most. Dr. Zoul has presented at national conferences on a wide variety of educational issues. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Alabama and holds additional degrees from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Troy University, and The University of Southern Mississippi. Jeff is married to Jill, a middle school teacher, and they are the parents of Jordyn. If you would like information about the contents of this book or about inviting Dr. Zoul to speak to your group, please contact him at [e-mail] or [phone].

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Laying the Groundwork; Chapter 2 A Culture of Care; Chapter 3 Standards for School Performance; Chapter 4 Curriculum: An Action, Not a Thing; Chapter 5 Active Learning; Chapter 6 Background Knowledge: The Foundation; Chapter 7 Differentiated Instruction Defined; Chapter 8 Expecting the Best; Chapter 9 Graphic Organizers; Chapter 10 Differentiated Instruction Practices; Chapter 11 Lesson Closure; Chapter 12 A Collaborative Learning Culture; Chapter 13 The Heart of Coaching; Chapter 14 A Culture of Gratitude; Chapter 15 A Community of Leaders; Chapter 16 Making it Stick; Chapter 17 Teaching Organization Skills; Chapter 18 A Culture of Giving; Chapter 19 Stretching the Culture for Powerful Learning; Chapter 20 Creating a Vision; Chapter 21 Homework Perspectives; Chapter 22 Homework Practices; Chapter 23 Tips for Teaching Reading, Part I; Chapter 24 Tips for Teaching Reading, Part II; Chapter 25 A Culture of Curiosity and Passion; Chapter 26 Response to Intervention Basics; Chapter 27 Principles of Great Teaching; Chapter 28 The Importance of Teaching Procedures; Chapter 29 A Culture of Change; Chapter 30 Reinforcing Effort; Chapter 31 Test Preparation; Chapter 32 Team Values; Chapter 33 A Culture of Learning, Laughing, Loving; Chapter 34 Teacher Appreciation; Chapter 35 It’s All About You...; Chapter 36 ...But It’s Not About You at All!; Chapter 37 A Culture of Possibility;