Kim Farris-Berg and Edward J. Dirkswager are fellows at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota. Amy Junge is an associate at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota.To learn more about the authors, visit their website at www.trustingteachers.org.

• ContentsAcknowledgementsPrefacePART ONE: What would happen if we trusted teachers with school success?Introduction. To get high performing schools, maybe it’s time to trust teachers.Chapter 2. Teacher Autonomy: what it is, who has it, and how it’s securedChapter 3. When granted autonomy, teachers choose to operate in ways that emulate the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizations.PART TWO: Eight practices autonomous teachers embrace whichare indicative of the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizationsChapter 4. Practice #1: Share purpose, which always focuses on students as individuals, and use it as the basis of decisions aimed at school improvementChapter 5. Practice #2: Participate in collaboration and leadership for the good of the whole school, not just a classroom.Chapter 6. Practice #3: Encourage colleagues and students to be active, ongoing learners in an effort to everyone’s engagement and motivationChapter 7. Practice #4: Develop or adopt learning programs that individualize student learningChapter 8. Practice #5: Address social and discipline problems as part of student learningChapter 9. Practice #6: Broaden the definition and scope of student achievement and assessmentChapter 10. Practice #7: Encourage teacher improvement using 360-degree, peer- and self-evaluation methods as well as peer coaching and mentoringChapter 11. Practice #8: Make budget trade-offs to meet the needs of students they serve PART THREE:Implementation strategies for those who want to support teacher autonomyChapter 12. It’s time to trust teachers.AppendixesNotesBibliographyAbout the Authors

While school reform has proceeded seemingly unabated for the last 50 years, the most recent proposals have, for the most part, excluded classroom practitioners from the discussion. Farris-Berg and Dirkswager (fellows, Center for Policy Studies, St. Paul, Minnesota) examine the results at schools that trust the teachers who work there to make the important educational decisions affecting the children they serve. While exploring how best to encourage autonomous teachers, the book also reviews how much independence teachers need, how educators respond to this autonomy, and how the results of their decisions can be assessed and evaluated. A large part of the work looks at eight practices that autonomous teachers embrace and that the authors suggest are necessary for a high-performing organization. These practices are explained through the use of vignettes, examples, photographs, and graphics that deepen understanding of the concepts undergirding each practice. Each of these chapters examining effective practices concludes with a series of questions and challenges related to implementation as identified by teachers assuming increased responsibility in school governance. These questions and challenges would provide ideal starting places for discussions related to these issues. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate students and above.

Kim Farris-Berg and Edward J. Dirkswager are fellows at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota. Amy Junge is an associate at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota.To learn more about the authors, visit their website at www.trustingteachers.org.

• ContentsAcknowledgementsPrefacePART ONE: What would happen if we trusted teachers with school success?Introduction. To get high performing schools, maybe it’s time to trust teachers.Chapter 2. Teacher Autonomy: what it is, who has it, and how it’s securedChapter 3. When granted autonomy, teachers choose to operate in ways that emulate the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizations.PART TWO: Eight practices autonomous teachers embrace whichare indicative of the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizationsChapter 4. Practice #1: Share purpose, which always focuses on students as individuals, and use it as the basis of decisions aimed at school improvementChapter 5. Practice #2: Participate in collaboration and leadership for the good of the whole school, not just a classroom.Chapter 6. Practice #3: Encourage colleagues and students to be active, ongoing learners in an effort to everyone’s engagement and motivationChapter 7. Practice #4: Develop or adopt learning programs that individualize student learningChapter 8. Practice #5: Address social and discipline problems as part of student learningChapter 9. Practice #6: Broaden the definition and scope of student achievement and assessmentChapter 10. Practice #7: Encourage teacher improvement using 360-degree, peer- and self-evaluation methods as well as peer coaching and mentoringChapter 11. Practice #8: Make budget trade-offs to meet the needs of students they serve PART THREE:Implementation strategies for those who want to support teacher autonomyChapter 12. It’s time to trust teachers.AppendixesNotesBibliographyAbout the Authors

While school reform has proceeded seemingly unabated for the last 50 years, the most recent proposals have, for the most part, excluded classroom practitioners from the discussion. Farris-Berg and Dirkswager (fellows, Center for Policy Studies, St. Paul, Minnesota) examine the results at schools that trust the teachers who work there to make the important educational decisions affecting the children they serve. While exploring how best to encourage autonomous teachers, the book also reviews how much independence teachers need, how educators respond to this autonomy, and how the results of their decisions can be assessed and evaluated. A large part of the work looks at eight practices that autonomous teachers embrace and that the authors suggest are necessary for a high-performing organization. These practices are explained through the use of vignettes, examples, photographs, and graphics that deepen understanding of the concepts undergirding each practice. Each of these chapters examining effective practices concludes with a series of questions and challenges related to implementation as identified by teachers assuming increased responsibility in school governance. These questions and challenges would provide ideal starting places for discussions related to these issues. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate students and above.

Kim Farris-Berg and Edward J. Dirkswager are fellows at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota. Amy Junge is an associate at the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota.To learn more about the authors, visit their website at www.trustingteachers.org.

• ContentsAcknowledgementsPrefacePART ONE: What would happen if we trusted teachers with school success?Introduction. To get high performing schools, maybe it’s time to trust teachers.Chapter 2. Teacher Autonomy: what it is, who has it, and how it’s securedChapter 3. When granted autonomy, teachers choose to operate in ways that emulate the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizations.PART TWO: Eight practices autonomous teachers embrace whichare indicative of the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizationsChapter 4. Practice #1: Share purpose, which always focuses on students as individuals, and use it as the basis of decisions aimed at school improvementChapter 5. Practice #2: Participate in collaboration and leadership for the good of the whole school, not just a classroom.Chapter 6. Practice #3: Encourage colleagues and students to be active, ongoing learners in an effort to everyone’s engagement and motivationChapter 7. Practice #4: Develop or adopt learning programs that individualize student learningChapter 8. Practice #5: Address social and discipline problems as part of student learningChapter 9. Practice #6: Broaden the definition and scope of student achievement and assessmentChapter 10. Practice #7: Encourage teacher improvement using 360-degree, peer- and self-evaluation methods as well as peer coaching and mentoringChapter 11. Practice #8: Make budget trade-offs to meet the needs of students they serve PART THREE:Implementation strategies for those who want to support teacher autonomyChapter 12. It’s time to trust teachers.AppendixesNotesBibliographyAbout the Authors

While school reform has proceeded seemingly unabated for the last 50 years, the most recent proposals have, for the most part, excluded classroom practitioners from the discussion. Farris-Berg and Dirkswager (fellows, Center for Policy Studies, St. Paul, Minnesota) examine the results at schools that trust the teachers who work there to make the important educational decisions affecting the children they serve. While exploring how best to encourage autonomous teachers, the book also reviews how much independence teachers need, how educators respond to this autonomy, and how the results of their decisions can be assessed and evaluated. A large part of the work looks at eight practices that autonomous teachers embrace and that the authors suggest are necessary for a high-performing organization. These practices are explained through the use of vignettes, examples, photographs, and graphics that deepen understanding of the concepts undergirding each practice. Each of these chapters examining effective practices concludes with a series of questions and challenges related to implementation as identified by teachers assuming increased responsibility in school governance. These questions and challenges would provide ideal starting places for discussions related to these issues. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate students and above.