The Politics of Authentic Engagement: Perspectives, Strategies, and Tools for Student Success

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The Politics of Authentic Engagement: Perspectives, Strategies and Tools for Student Success provides practical approaches for leaders in a variety of roles to address the changing landscape of schooling, build dynamic relationships in support of schools, help parents/families support their childrens achievement and create a culture of engagement. Strategies described in this book teach how to serve as a listener, teacher, leader facilitator, and initiator in engaging others within professional settings to do meaningful work that benefits students. It's companion book, Authentic Engagement: Perspectives, Strategies, and Tools for Student Success supports leaders in helping others learn to engage by providing handout, overheads, instructions, and other prompts to use in workshop settings.

Reviews

This excellent book not only offers a convincing argument that educators must engage community members in the educational decisions that will affect them and their children, but it also provides the skills that educators and stakeholders must learn to be meaningfully engaged with one another. Real skills, such as story telling, listening, problem solving, conflict management, and facilitation. To cap it off, the book also shows how to apply those skills to real-world situations, such as community forums, focus groups, and action research. It should become an indispensable resource to enlightened educational leaders everywhere. -- Anne T. Henderson, author of the best-selling book, "Beyond the Bake Sale", a founder of the National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement and senior consultant, community organizing and engagement, Annenberg Institute for School Reform
All school board members and educators should read The Politics of Authentic Engagement. This practical book and its workbook provide strategies on how to engage underserved populations, busy, overwhelmed families and community members who have too much to do and are angry and confused in the present environment of polarization and self-righteousness. As school board members we must engage our stakeholders in civil community dialogue that is focused on solving problems that affect them and their children so they will share in the responsibility for the success of all students. Politics of Authentic Engagement shows us how. -- Lesley Dahlkemper, past board president and current board member Jefferson County Board of Education, Colorado (JEFFCO)
No one in the country has more experience than Kathy Leslie in listening closely to multiple school stakeholders, and then using that input to build understanding and broaden ownership of any recommended changes. These books provide decades of wisdom and practical advice. -- Adam Kernan-Schloss, president and CEO, KSA-Plus Communications, Arlington, Virginia
If you aspire to effectively engage each family in meaningful work that supports student success, and to develop parent leaders among all your stakeholders including families of color read The Politics of Authentic Engagement. Written by a leader in advanced engagement work Kathy Leslie arms the reader with perspectives, tools, templates and strategies to build a culture of stakeholder engagement and responsibility for the successful performance of all students. -- Joe Krumm APR, past president National School Public Relations Association and public relations director North Clackamas School District, Milwaukie Oregon

Author Bio

Kathy Leslie, APR, a former teacher and administrator, currently president of Leslie Consulting and Associates has written for national educational journals and co-authored the NSPRA workshop kits Lighting the Fire: A Process for Building Staff Morale and Excellence; Staff Recognition: Unlocking the Potential for Success; Team Building 2000, Managing Change Together and for Chalkboard Project Running Start: Reaching the Hard-To Reach, a Toolkit for Parents and Trainers of Parents. Leslie has worked in nearly every state and internationally to build positive stakeholder relationships and strengthen community by facilitating dialogue, focus groups, strategic planning, community forums, and conflict mediation. Judy Taccogna brings practical experience as a teacher, counselor, elementary school principal and district administrator. She has also served as the education director at Search Institute, a national research organization in Minneapolis (MN). She has contributed writing and editing to two previous books and a number of newsletters. Global Oregon represented a collaborative writing project among teachers throughout Oregon to produce an economics textbook for high school students under the auspices of Oregon State University/Western Oregon University School of Education. Powerful Teaching: Developmental Assets in Curriculum and Instruction was a project that brought together 24 educators who were applying Search Institutes developmental asset model to learning in classrooms and schools. She holds bachelor degrees in education and literature, a masters degree in counseling and guidance, and a doctorate in educational leadership, administration and supervision.