Leadership for Resilient Schools and Communities

Mike M. Milstein is a partner in The Resiliency Group, Ltd., and Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership at the University of New Mexico. His professional career also includes being Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Buffalo and a classroom teacher. His teaching, research, and writing interests are in the areas of resiliency and organiza­tional change and development. He has been actively engaged in school and community resiliency development efforts in such places as Nelson, New Zealand, Ashland, Oregon; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Shelby County, Tennessee. The resil­iency initiatives he has facilitated include classroom instruction and cur­riculum improvement efforts, school wide activities that enhance the resil­iency of educators, and school-community partnerships that support resiliency development for both children and adults. He has written 11 books, including coauthoring Resiliency in Schools (2002; 1996). Doris “Annie” Henry is a partner in The Resiliency Group, Ltd., and retired Pro­fessor of Educational Leadership. Her research and writing interests focus on resiliency, restructuring, change, organization development, and school improvement. Her work with developing resiliency efforts includes Nelson, New Zealand, Ashland, Oregon; Tennessee State Department of Education; and Memphis, Tennessee. She has facili­tated resiliency at the classroom, school-wide, and community-school part­nership levels. Currently she is the National President of the New Zealand Educational Administration and Leadership Society (NZEALS), and serves on 10 international, national and local boards. Her professional career includes being Professor of Educa­tional Leadership at New Mexico Highlands University, the University of Memphis, and at the University of Nebraska at Omaha; an elementary school principal for nearly a decade in Arizona and Oklahoma, and a classroom teacher. She has published and presented widely in her areas of interest, most notably as coauthor of the national study, Becoming a Superintendent: Challenges of School District Leadership (1997).

• DedicationList of Tables and FiguresList of HandoutsForeword by Richard A. SchmuckForeword to the First Edition by Paul D. HoustonPrefaceOrganization of the BookAbout the AuthorsPart I. Basic Concepts1. Resiliency: Promoting Everyone’s Potential to SucceedWhy the Urgency?An Introduction to ResiliencyThe Problem With Problem Solvers2. Building Resilient CommunitiesWhy Community Development and ResiliencyTraditional Ways of Thinking About CommunityThree Realities of Community: Rural, Urban, and SuburbanVisualizing the Resilient CommunityLeadership Activities for Building a Resilient Community: Where Do We Start?Part II. Resiliency for Everyone3. Student Resiliency: Building a Base for Positive LivingWhat Are the Problems That Youth Face?Changing Our Mind Maps: From Deficits to PotentialsStudent Resiliency: The Community and School’s ResponsibilitiesLeadership Strategies That Promote Student ResiliencyBringing It All Together as an Overall Resiliency-Building Approach4. Educator Resiliency: Nurturing the NurturersResiliency Pathways and Educators’ Performance Over Their Career SpanThe Ability of Educators to Perform Well Over Time: Coping With PlateauingThe Impact of the School Environment on Educator ResiliencyStrategies to Overcome School-Based Barriers to Educator Resiliency5. School Resiliency: Creating Supportive Environments for Students, Educators, and CommunitiesDoes Your School Support Resiliency?Improving School Resiliency Means Changing SchoolsBackwards PlanningSchool Resiliency-Building Strategies6. Community Resiliency: Developing PartnershipsBuilding Relationships Between Schools and Their CommunitiesCommunities With Characteristics of ResiliencyCommunity Support Is Needed for School ResiliencySchool Support Is Needed for Community ResiliencyFrom Reactive to Proactive Community RelationshipsStrategies for Improving Community ResiliencyPart III. Making It Happen for Schools & Communities7. Leading Resiliency Development Initiatives: Strategies for Managing and Assessing ChangeBringing It All Together and Leading Resiliency Development InitiativesThe Four Stages of ChangeGroup DevelopmentLeadership NeedsFacilitation SkillsAssessment, Monitoring, and Evaluation8. School and Community Resiliency InitiativesA Reality PerspectiveCommunities on the Forefront of ImprovementIn ClosingResource A: HandoutsReferencesIndex

"Building a foundation of resiliency will help schools and communities strengthen their futures. Milstein and Henry establish an excellent set of guiding principles. Every educational administrator needs to read and reflect upon this important work."