vision for effective practices in Texas schools.
In 2011, Dr. Warrick joined the Solution Tree–Marzano Research team and now works as an author and global consultant in the areas of school leadership, curriculum, instruction, assessment, grading, and collaborative teaming. He earned a bachelor of science from Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska, and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Cameron L. Rains, EdD, is the assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation. In this role, he is part of a team working to ensure that all students in the district learn at high levels. Previously, Dr. Rains served as a teacher and instructional coach, and he acquired almost ten years of administrative experience as a director of elementary education and director of curriculum and instruction.
Dr. Rains is passionate about school and district leadership and applying research findings in the school environment. He coauthored an article on the importance of reading fluency for Reading and Writing Quarterly and is coauthor of the book Stronger Together: Answering the Questions of Collaborative Leadership. Dr. Rains also serves as a Marzano Research associate, where he delivers professional development on a wide range of topics across the United States.
Dr. Rains earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education and a master of science degree in educational leadership from Indiana University. He also holds an educational specialist degree and doctorate in educational leadership from Ball State University.
To learn more about Cameron L. Rains’s work, follow him @CameronRains on Twitter.
Richard DuFour, EdD, was a public school educator for thirty-four years, serving as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. During his nineteen-year tenure as both principal and superintendent at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Stevenson became one of only three schools in the nation to win the U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award on four occasions and the first comprehensive high school to be designated a New America High School as a model of successful school reform. Dr. DuFour received his state’s highest award as both a principal and superintendent.
A prolific author and sought-after consultant, Dr. DuFour was recognized as one of the leading authorities on helping school practitioners implement the Professional Learning Communities at Work™ process in their schools and districts.
Dr. DuFour wrote a quarterly column for the Journal of Staff Development for nearly a decade. He was the lead consultant and author of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s video series on principalship and the author of several other videos. He was named as one of the Top 100 School Administrators in North America by Executive Educator magazine, was presented the Distinguished Scholar Practitioner Award from the University of Illinois, and was the 2004 recipient of the National Staff Development Council’s Distinguished Service Award.
To learn more about Richard DuFour’s work, visit AllThingsPLC (www.allthingsplc.info).
To book Robert J. Marzano, Philip B. Warrick, or Cameron L. Rains for professional development, contact [email protected].
Foreword
By Jeffrey C. Jones
Student achievement—this is by far the main purpose of a school. Yet with the rising tide of standardized testing and the numerous demands placed on schools, educators often find themselves straying from this main objective. From daily paperwork to lesson plans and assessment, educators are bombarded with things to do besides focus on learning, and seemingly not enough time to do them. So, how can educators sort through the myriad tasks, both required and optional, to focus on the essential things they need to do to promote student achievement? In other words, how can they determine that the work they’re doing is the right work?
In Leading a High Reliability School, my friends and authors Bob Marzano, Phil Warrick, and Cameron Rains provide a comprehensive model that leaders can follow to ensure the right work is being done. Grounded in years of research, the high reliability school (HRS) model encompasses twenty-five variables, or leading indicators, that leaders can implement. Ranging from a safe school environment to a guaranteed and viable curriculum for all, these leading indicators provide a road map for leaders to follow.
In the clear and compelling introduction crafted just prior to losing his battle with cancer, our dear friend and colleague Dr. Rick DuFour writes about the powerful impact of professional learning community (PLC) work, specifically the PLC at Work™ process and its integral role in creating high reliability schools. A pioneer in PLCs and a Solution Tree author for more than twenty years, Rick brought his decades of experience and insight to this work.
In the remaining chapters, Bob, Phil, and Cameron detail the work surrounding each of the twenty-five leading indicators of a high reliability school. With a wealth of examples, rubrics, learning progressions, and tables, they walk the reader through the process of implementing each indicator, obtaining data for continuous improvement, and ensuring leader accountability. Each chapter concludes with evidence from the field—anecdotes from school leaders about their experiences, challenges, and successes in implementing the HRS model.
The work of schools isn’t easy. It involves asking hard questions, prioritizing the work, collaborating, analyzing data, and monitoring progress. The list goes on and on. In Leading a High Reliability School, leaders will find a comprehensive model that enables them to approach the work with clarity of purpose and clear direction. And at Solution Tree and Marzano Research, we consider it a great honor to bring this work to you.
Introduction
The Primacy of the PLC Process
By Richard DuFour
In the subtitle of his 1961 book, Excellence, John W. Gardner asks, “Can we be equal and excellent too?” Contemporary educators face the challenge of answering this question in the affirmative. Schools that strive for excellence must take steps to ensure that all students not only have equal access to but also acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will prepare them for their future. These institutions that were created to sort and select students based on their perceived abilities, socioeconomic status, and likely careers now are called on to ensure every student graduates from high school with the high levels of learning necessary for success in college or other avenues of postsecondary training. In short, a school cannot become excellent unless it commits to equity as well.
The Effective Schools research of the 1970s and 1980s established that some schools more effectively than others help students achieve the intended levels of proficiency. Schools, however, often overlook that student achievement differs significantly more within schools than between schools largely because of the variability in teacher effectiveness within the same school (Hattie, 2015).
This finding should come as no surprise given that the traditional schooling structure in a large portion of the world has involved individual teachers in isolated classrooms making decisions based on their experience, expertise, preferences, and interests. This structure has subjected students to an
