Developing Successful K-8 Schools: A Principal's Guide

List of FiguresPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the Author1. Here Comes the K-8 School Origins of the New K-8 School Rationale for Changing the School Design Bedrock Beliefs About Educating Children An Initial Look at the New K-8 Program We Need Some Issues Associated With K-8 Education Questions for Study Groups Summary Notes2. Using Standards to Define K-8 Programs Origin of Standards National Standards for K-8 Education Subject Matter Standards in K-8 Schools Extending Standards in K-8 Schools Learning Targets for Standards-Based School Managing Standards-Based Programs Nurturing Intellectual Competence Transfer of Knowledge Questions for Study Groups Summary Notes3. Using Skills to Create the Seamless Curriculum Two Conceptions of Ends The Curriculum Design Tasks What Kind of Skills Should be Taught? Sample Tasks for Each Learner Collaborative Emphasis A Final Word About the Subjects Questions for Study Groups Summary Notes4. New Instructional Patterns for the K-8 School General Design Organization Patterns Modifying Standards-Based Curriculum New Uses of School Buildings New Deployment of Teachers New Ways of Assessing Students New Patterns for Involving Parents Questions for Study Groups Summary Notes5. A Return on Investment Parents Students Teachers Administrators Questions for Study Groups Summary Notes6. Implementing the K-8 Program The Unfolding Process Prerequisite Conditions Acquiring Resources Assessment Putting It All Together Questions for Study Groups Summary Notes7. Validating Progress Concept Development Mission Statements Curriculum Design Instructional Features Teachers Parents Facilities and Transportation TechnologyResource A. Summary of K-8 Research Findings Resource B. Standards OrganizationsResource C. Instructional Resource Sites on the InternetResource D. Teaching Through the InternetResource E. GlossaryReferencesIndex

Jon Wiles is a highly experienced educator who has provided curriculum leadership to schools and educational agencies for over thirty years. His specialty is the creation and implementation of curriculum plans. Wiles's work as an educational consultant has taken him to hundreds of agencies in more than forty states and a dozen foreign nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Wiles is the author or coauthor of twelve widely used books addressing curriculum and educational leadership. His text, Curriculum Development: A Guide to Practice (Seventh Edition), has been used for nearly thirty years in colleges and universities throughout the world to train curriculum leaders. Other areas of publication by Wiles include teacher training, administration, school supervision, theory of change, politics of education, middle grades education, and technology.

"A valuable resource for all educators. It not only provides a timeline of past mistakes and successes we've made educating students of these ages, but goes further to provide a prescription for future schools that emphasizes developmental levels, content, skill-building, and involvement of students, parents, teachers, and administrators."