Failure Is Not an Option (R): 6 Principles for Making Student Success the Only Option

Blankstein, founder and president of the Harnessing Optimism and Potential through Education (HOPE) Foundation, gathers case stories, examples, and advice for schools and school districts who want to ensure success for every student. He outlines 10 common routes to failure and how to avoid each, and spells out six principles for success: common mission and vision, prevention and intervention, collaborative teaching teams, data-based decision making, gaining active engagement from family and community, and building sustainable leadership capacity. This second edition contains new cases and success stories, and more emphasis on peer observation in coaching and assessment. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Updated throughout, this second edition of the bestseller Failure Is Not an Option(TM) provides school leaders with a fresh look at what it takes to provide courageous school leadership and underscores the pivotal role played by the professional learning community in effecting school reform.Alan M. Blankstein outlines ten common routes to failure and then outlines how to avoid each one, focusing on six principles that build and sustain high-performing schools: Common mission, vision, values, and goals Ensuring achievement for all students with systems for prevention and intervention Collaborative teaming focused on teaching for learning Data-based decisions for continuous improvement Gaining active engagement from family and community Building sustainable leadership capacity

Anchored in the moral purpose of sustaining student success, this edition emphasizes diversity, assessment, intervention for students at risk, and schooling as a community endeavor.

Resources referenced in Failure Is Not an Option(R), Second Edition are available in The Facilitator's Guide to Failure Is Not an Option(R), Second Edition and can also be found at the HOPE Foundation Web site at www.hopefoundation.org.

Five years, 200,000 readers, and one national award after the first edition, Blankstein documents how educators have closed gaps, turned schools around, and sustained overall success.Resources referenced in Failure Is Not an Option(R), Second Edition are available in The Facilitator's Guide to Failure Is Not an Option(R), Second Edition and can also be found at the HOPE Foundation Web site at www.hopefoundation.org.