Fall Down, Stand Up

Russ Thompson served thirty-six years as an educator in Los Angeles, including fourteen years as the principal of three high schools. Two of the schools where he served as principal were turnaround schools.

• Preface AcknowledgementsDiscipline1.The Problem Was Now Worse 2.Class Time Was Like Lunch Time 3.It Was the Best He Had Seen 4.Simple Detention5.He Had to Change His Mentality6.Saturday School 7.Lunch Supervision8.A Fight that Was Prevented 9.The Problem with Suspensions10.The First Award of His Entire Life 11.It Was Almost a Real Emergency 12.Riot and Recovery13.Section Review Classroom Instruction14.The Learning in Classrooms15.The Reason It Worked16.A Sustained Process 17.He Had Firmly Believed18.You Have to Go Out and Look for Problems19.The Best Way to Spend Your Time20.It Was His First Day21.An Opinion Is Not Research 22.Your Presence in Classrooms 23.Will It Help Students Learn Better?24.The Power of a Positive Learning Environment25.The Common Core State Standards26.A Model Lesson27.Section ReviewSchool Operations 28.Cleaning Needed29.The Foundation of Your Entire School30.Tragedy31.Another Tragedy32.Almost a Disaster33.Phone Calls 34.The Entire Contract35.The Right Kind of Faculty Meeting36.Section ReviewLeadership37.Delegation 38.Delegation Gone Bad 39.Deadlines 40.Ask Questions41.A Sacrifice You Must Make42.Priorities 43.Also Listen to the Quiet Voices44.We Are Not as Bad As...45.Making People Happy Is Not Your Job46.He Went Over to His Shelf 47.Pick Up the Phone 48.A Leader Who Got Things Done49.Do Not Let the Obstacle Overcome You50.Exhaustion51.A Mistake He Would Never Forget 52.Advice from a Pro53.Target Practice 54.Ask for Advice 55.A Big Difference 56.Always Watching You57.Section Review People58.In the Middle of Kids59.It Was Distorted and Very Negative60.People Need Time61.Suggestion or Requirement? 62.Saved by a RecordingDevice 63.Necessary Action64.It Was Said Behind His Back65.It Was a Lie and the Principal Believed Him 66.Gossip 67.Delay Makes It Worse68.Talk to the Person in Person 69.You Must Also Be Persuasive70.Remember the Positives71.A Good School Again72.Section ReviewAbout the AuthorIndex

Tired of arm chair theorists and distant policy wonks in conservative think tanks telling politicians, gullible op-ed editors, and state legislators who want instant fixes of how easy it is to fix the schools? Then open this book by veteran public school principal Russ Thompson for how it is in the real world of school administration for a refreshing memoir of the multi dimensionalities of the hard day to day continuous challenges involved with real school improvement. Fall Down Stand Up will find you cheering for the hard won little victories at day’s end that when summed up over time result in changed school accomplishment and operational success.