Can Every School Succeed?

The goal of Can Every School Succeed is to aid school leaders in the process of transforming today’s schools. The book is based on principles that the authors have developed as school leaders through their experience in transforming low performing schools into high achieving schools. Many schools begin the transformation process only to fail because they do not identify and communicate the goals for change. As schools continue to struggle with the many complexities that they face, transformation is needed. In response to this, this book offers school leaders practical, transformation principles that will ensure the transformation process is simple, concise, and remains focused on creating the best learning environment for students.

How do you lead for transformation and impact? Inspire a shared vision. Students have but one chance to experience the grade level they are in. As Creasman, Bacon and Franklin write in Can Every School Succeed, the time is now for action! In this book vision is illuminated, transformation is visualized, and the leadership journey will be transformed. This is a must read for all educators, leaders, policy-makers and school board members., Clarity and focus are everything. If you have not read Guy Kawaski’s book The Art of the Start, he says that mission statements get lost. What groups need is a mantra, something that is 2-10 words long that can be easily remembered and when asked can roll off everyone’s list. Transforming leaders at the building level is critical but the next step that I see will be transforming how we manage the corporation as a whole, the school. Transforming how we go about things to make schools more efficient, saving both time and money – with a depending vision on students. My belief is that when schools see the district office having their attention focused on efficiency, effectiveness and students, that will inspire those at the school level to do the same. Creasman, Bacon and Franklin stress the importance of strategic school transnformation by beginning with a clear vision for change and the mantra to keep change about students. Can Every School Succeed is a must have book for aspiring and current transformative school leaders who are eager to begin the journey to create student-centered schools., Creasman, Bacon and Franklin provide strategies that any school can attempt, but provide examples and illustrations that are practical to show how to make transformation actually happen. They provide a framework for identifying gaps in school improvement that allows a leader or teacher to walk into any school, identify the areas in need fo improvement and find a plethora of strategies related to those areas.

Brian Creasman, Ed.D., is currently superintendent of Fleming County Schools in Kentucky. He has served as an assistant superintendent, a high school and middle school principal and assistant principal, and an instructional technologist and classroom teacher. He is the co-author of The Leader Within: Understanding and Empowering Teacher Leaders and Growing Leaders Within: A Process toward Teacher Leadership. Brian can be reached at briankcreasman@gmail.com. He can also be found on Twitter at @FCSSuper.Jesse Bacon is currently the principal of Simon Middle School in Fleming County, Kentucky and is working toward an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky.  Jesse has participated in numerous leadership programs including the Leadership Institute for School Principals through the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), the National Institute for School Leaders (NISL) Executive Development Program, as well as the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Aspiring Superintendents Academy. He has also presented at numerous conferences on school leadership and is an active participant on Advanc-ED school and district accreditation teams.  You can find him on twitter at @JesseBacon.David Franklin, Ed.D., is a Professor of Education for National University and an educational consultant for schools across the country. He has served as a primary and secondary principal as well as a classroom teacher. He has published articles in the The New York Academy of Public Education Professional Journal as well as in publications in India and The Middle East. His articles published on the website The Principal’s Desk have been downloaded over 100,000 times by educator across the world. He can be reached at david@theprincipalsdesk.org and on Twitter at @sfprincipal.