Motivate! Inspire! Lead!

RoseAnne O′Brien Vojtek has served as an elementary principal at Ivy Drive Elementary School in Bristol, Connecticut, for the past 10 years. Previously she was the director of instruction for Oregon City School District in Oregon, and an elementary principal at Joseph Gale Elementary School in Forest Grove, Oregon. Vojtek also taught for 11 years for the Winston-Dillard School District in Oregon at both the elementary and middle school levels. Throughout her career, Vojtek has emerged as a leader in many professional organizations. Currently, she is Connecticut′s state representative to the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and serves on a number of committees for the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS). Vojtek has served as the Area I-A coordinator for Phi Delta Kappa (1991-1994); a member of several International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) task forces for the National Education Technology Standards (NETS); and past president (2000) and member of the board of trustees for the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). Vojtek has worked as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Oregon, Portland State University, and Lewis & Clark College. She has presented and consulted at numerous local, state, and national conferences on topics related to staff development, organization development, leadership, change, and technology. Vojtek is also an exemplary educator for SMART Technologies.Together with her husband Robert, Vojteks coauthored the technology column for the Journal of Staff Development (JSD 1995-2000). She coauthored an ERIC Monograph, Effective Staff Development for Teachers: A Research-based Model in 1994 with Meredith Gall. Vojtek also was a member of the NSDC Standards Revision Task Force and NSDC Standards Revision Technology Subcommittee that produced E-Learning for Educators. Vojtek earned her bachelor′s degree in elementary education from Oregon State University and her master′s and doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Oregon. Her doctoral dissertation, "Integrating Staff Development and Organization Development," won the 1994 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Staff Development Council.Article on Motivate! Inspire! Lead! Robert J. Vojtek is an engaging speaker whose teaching experience spans middle school to graduate school. His administrative experience includes chief information officer (CIO) at two universities (Concordia University in Portland, Oregon and the University of Hartford in Connecticut), dean of graduate studies (The University of Hartford), and manager of instructional technology services where he provided professional development in the utilization and integration of technology at the Harvard Law School. He is currently employed by Avon Public Schools in Connecticut. He designed a pre-engineering program for Avon High School and is the unified arts coordinator. Vojtek began his career as a junior high school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He worked at the College of The Redwoods, where he served as the Vocational Technical Division chair and department chair for Drafting and Technology. He established the AutoCAD Authorized Training Center and was voted the 1987 Top AutoCAD Instructor for the US and Canada. Vojtek has been active in numerous professional organizations. He has been named an exemplary educator by SMART Technologies. Vojtek currently serves as a member of the Tri-State Consortium, a learning organization devoted to assisting school districts in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey in using student performance data to develop a rigorous framework for continuous school improvement.Vojtek was associate professor of education at Concordia University as well as an adjunct faculty member at three other colleges and universities. He has presented and consulted at numerous local, state, and national conferences on technology, staff development, organization development, leadership, and change. Vojtek has served as a lobbyist for the Oregon Community College Association (OCCA). He received a scholarship from the MIT Hartford Alumni Association to attend the Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT). Vojtek completed his doctorate in 1995 from the University of Oregon. His dissertation was titled, The Role of Computer Coordinators in the Implementation of the Internet as a Tool for School Improvement and School Reform. Articles on Motivate! Inspire! Lead!

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Understanding Motivation2. Leadership Within3. Quality of Life: Creating the Essential Conditions to Support the School Environment4. Mission: Defining the Important Work We Do5. Communication: Using Shared Vocabulary and Definitions to Clarify Purpose Through Dialogue6. Relationships: Building Human Connections7. Accountability: Creating Ownership and Mutual Responsibility to Accomplish the Mission8. Competence and Capacity: Generating the Confidence to Successfully Achieve the Goal9. Autonomy: Leveraging the Freedom Within Articulated Boundaries to Make Informed Decisions10. Empowerment: Delegating the Responsibility That Affords Educators the Authority to Do Their Work11. Positive Interdependence: Interacting in Ways That Promote Each Other′s Success12. Results: Achieving the School′s Morally Compelling Mission and Goals13. A Call for ActionEpilogueAppendix A. Satisfying Basic NeedsAppendix B. Further ReadingReferencesIndex

"The authors remind leaders that the first step in motivating others is changing themselves. This practical book uses case studies, examples, and reflective activities to provide leaders with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to create school cultures in which teachers and others can find purpose, hope, enjoyment, and a sense of belonging and competency."