Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning

“Your book answered the 'Why are we doing this?' question and provided a long-term rationale for the benefits of well-led, shared instructional leadership. I thank you for your work. It has helped me to understand the 'big picture' benefits of collaborating with staff by explaining why collaborative instructional leadership is the 'right thing to do.'"

Paula Landers,
Associate Principal, Stoughton Senior High School

“Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning, by Anne Conzemius and Jan O'Neill, is an excellent resource for administrators interested in developing a system that by design invites effective participation by all participants in school improvement .... The authors provide several helpful strategies for central-office administrators, making this an excellent resource."

Reviewed in School Administrator online by Tom Narak, Superintendent Indianola (Iowa) Community School

www.smartlearningcommunity.net
Copyright ©2009

Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning

Anne Conzemius
and Jan O'Neill

ASCD Premier member book, 2001
Winner of the
WASCD 2002 Publication Award

Purchase the Book

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction Chapter

Walk into an effective school and ask this question of anyone—a teacher, a student, the principal, a parent volunteer, a secretary-—and you'll get the same answer: "I am."

Shared responsibility is something school communities build from within. It's what happens when all school people accept that what they do makes a difference in how all students
learn . . . when they have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about the best way to promote learning . . . and when they have the skills and opportunities to translate their ideas into effective action.

Anne Conzemius and Jan O'Neill present a practical framework for building shared responsibility within schools and school systems. Building shared responsibility for student learning is an ongoing activity — a journey and not a destination.

This research-based resource provides a map in the form of effective structures, systems, processes, and policies. It explains how to set powerful goals and shares inspiring stories of educators who have embarked on this journey toward higher professional competency, increased staff satisfaction, rising test scores, and improved student results.

Other publications in the QLD series

Breaking the Low-Achieving Mindset

The Handbook for SMART School Teams

The Power of SMART Goals

Anne Conzemius blue pixel

Anne brings a broad range of experience to her work as an educational consultant. At the state level she served as the Executive Assistant to Wisconsin's State Superintendent. In that capacity she advised on educational policy and led the Department's organizational strategic planning and restructuring initiative.

Prior to this appointment, Anne was the Director of Employee Development and Training for the state of Wisconsin. Anne has also spent time in the private sector, having been a senior level consultant for a human resource training and consulting firm where she specialized in strategic planning and quality improvement for government, education, and manufacturing.

Jan O'Neill blue pixel

Jan O'Neill has more than twenty years of training, consulting and facilitation experience.

She brings diverse experience to the field of education, having served as an early childhood, elementary and middle school teacher; consultant to state and local governments, healthcare and service industries; national consultant to Fortune 100 manufacturing companies; and product marketing manager for a national consulting firm.