Anthony Muhammad - Time for Change: Four Essential Skills for Transformational School and District Leaders (Educational Leadership Development for Change Management)

TIME FOR

CHANGE

Essential Skills for Transformational School and District Leaders

ANTHONY MUHAMMAD

LUIS F. CRUZ

Copyright 2019 by Solution Tree Press

Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked Reproducible. Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Muhammad, Anthony, author. | Cruz, Luis F., author.

Title: Time for change : four essential skills for transformational school and district leaders / Anthony Muhammad and Luis F. Cruz.

Description: Bloomington, IN : Solution Tree Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018045812 | ISBN 9781942496151 (perfect bound)

Subjects: LCSH: Educational leadership. | Educational change. | School environment. | School administrators--Professional relationships.

Classification: LCC LB2806 .M74 2019 | DDC 371.2--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018045812

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Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Richard and Rebecca DuFour for their tremendous impact on me as an educator, consultant, author, and human being. Their spirits were larger than life, and I pledge that I will do all that I can to carry on their legacy and continue to inspire, enlighten, and uplift educators all over the world.

I would also like to acknowledge the impact and influence of Robert Eaker. He has, and continues to be, a great influence on my work and our thinking. I would also like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Solution Tree staff. I appreciate everything that you do to advance my work! A special shout-out goes to the PLC Associates who continue to enlighten me and stimulate the topics and insights that extend and improve my work. I would like to welcome Dr. Luis Cruz into the circle of authors. I pray that this is just the first of many books to come!

Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank my wife (Dronda Muhammad), my mother (Anna Nelson), my children, and my entire family for their support and love. You give my life purpose, meaning, and direction. You are truly the wind beneath my wings!

Anthony Muhammad

I would like to acknowledge Ricardo and Rebecca DuFour for allowing me years ago to join their amazing team of educators who collectively work tirelessly to influence learning for students around the world. Your influence optimized my abilities as an educator and human being. I miss you every day and have no doubt you are both collaboratively building PLCs in heaven. I am honored to continue the work you initiated for as long as God allows.

I would like to acknowledge and thank my beautiful wife and best friend (principal extraordinaire in her own right), Pamela Cruz, and my three daughters, Marina, Anali, and Maya, for their continuous unconditional love and support. To my parents, Felipe and Gladys Cruz, who raised me with a growth mindset: muchas gracias, Mami and Papi! It worked! To my other mom (my mother-in-law) who, thank goodness, lives with us: I thank you for the tremendous amount of support you give our home that allows me to travel and interact with educators all over the world.

A special thank-you to my friend Richard Noblett who encouraged me to believe I could make a positive difference in the lives of hardworking educators. Thank you to Jeff Jones, Shannon Ritz, Claudia Wheatley, Douglas Rife, and the superb team from Solution Tree for allowing me to be a part of an amazing organization that is transforming lives around the world: it is truly an honor!

Thank you to my personal editor, Rachel Richards from Orange Glen High School in Escondido, California, for her patience reviewing the written work of this grown-up English learner. I appreciate your patience and gentle feedback with my prepositional phrase issue.

To the amazing and talented Mike Mattos and Ken Williams for your willingness to share your brilliance and passion with me from the get-go. I am a better consultant and presenter today because of you, my brothers for life.

Finally, thank you to my brother from another mother, Anthony Muhammad, for literally taking me under your wings over a decade ago and sharing your wisdom and genius with me with no strings attached. I am grateful to the Lord above for allowing our paths to cross as I am a better educator and person today because of your influence in my life. I look forward to a lifetime of friendship.

Luis F. Cruz

Visit go.SolutionTree.com/leadership to download the free reproducibles in this book.

Table of Contents

About the Authors

Anthony Muhammad, PhD, is a much sought-after educational consultant. A practitioner for nearly twenty years, he has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal and as a high school principal. His Transforming School Culture framework explores the root causes of staff resistance to change.

Anthonys tenure as a practitioner has earned him several awards as both a teacher and a principal. His most notable accomplishment came as principal of Levey Middle School in Southfield, Michigan, a National School of Excellence, where student proficiency on state assessments more than doubled in five years. Anthony and the staff at Levey used the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at Work process for school improvement, and the school has been recognized in several videos and articles as a model high-performing PLC.

As a researcher, Anthony has published articles in several publications in both the United States and Canada. He is author of Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division; The Will to Lead, the Skill to Teach: Transforming Schools at Every Level; and Overcoming the Achievement Gap Trap: Liberating Mindsets to Effect Change and a contributor to