Extreme Makeover! Take a Look

As you can see, we have made significant changes to the blog.  We made the changes to improve its appeal and usefulness.  The new features include:

1. A new design—cleaner, easier to navigate, and more contemporary.
2. We created a new Facebook Fan page with a direct connection with the blog.  Articles posted on the blog will now appear on our Facebook page.  The Fan page includes a discussion board, comments by blog readers, and links to very useful resources.  CHECK IT OUT!  Please note:  We need 100 fans in order to quality to create our own URL for the Fan page.  Become a fan and help us qualify.
3. You now have quick access to related articles by clicking on the categories and tags on the left of each article.
4. Did you read an article of particular value or interest?  You can now share it instantly with others.  At the bottom of each article is a share button.  Just click and share!
5. We have made it easier to leave a comment.  Just click on the “comment” link at the left of each article.

We hope you like the changes! 

I wish to publically thank Mr. Zach Clark who devoted hours of his time to redesign the CSJ blog and to create the direct connection to the new Facebook Fan page.  Thank you Zach!

Leave a comment and let us know what you think of our Extreme Makeover.

Have You Seen This Outstanding Resource?-OER Commons

Click on the image above to go to the site.  I just discovered this amazing resource. 

Below is an excerpt from one of the post-secondary lessons I found on the site.

The “three R’s” of school leadership

A quick check of effectiveness for school administrators.

By Chris Hitch

Your influence as a school leader is more critical today than ever before. Regardless of whether you are dealing with people internal or external to your district, earning their trust is crucial to moving your agenda forward. Although at times you may succeed by issuing edicts or commands, in school situations, leaders generally must rely on their powers of persuasion.

The three “Rs” of school leadership today are as follows:

• Are we putting the right people in the right places?
• Are we using the right metrics?
• Are we making a difference?

Are we putting the right people in the right places?

Where are your people deployed? Are they in places where they can be successful? Many school executives resist asking this important leadership question. You or one of your predecessors at some time in the past believed the talents of Teacher X and Staff Member Y matched the positions they now occupy. Times, however, change; talents evolve in various ways. The prudent school leader periodically reviews his or her team’s “lineup” to determine if everybody on the team is “playing” the right position. Education seems to be one of the few professions (OK, education is the only profession I know of) in which the more experienced and valuable a professional becomes, the easier his or her assignments become. The wise school executive asks the question, “Are my strongest players in positions where they can do the greatest good for the school?” …