November 1, 2010
New hands-on guide offers a low-cost way to improve school staff development programs
Teachers, youth workers and administrators will find step-by-step guidance in Strong Staff, Strong Students
MINNEAPOLIS: The recession has hit everyone hard, both fiscally and emotionally. Schools and youth programs around the country are struggling with teacher and staff burnout, but staff development programs designed to keep teachers and youth workers motivated and fulfilled can cost more money than places can now afford to pay. Strong Staff, Strong Students: Professional Development in Schools and Youth Programs (Search Institute Press, 2010), is designed to help programs employ positive staff development techniques in a way that is both low-cost and high-impact.
Written by public school veteran Angela Jerabek and development consultant Nancy Tellett-Royce, Strong Staff, Strong Students offers a thoughtful, positive approach that can be used on its own or seamlessly integrated into an existing staff development program. It lays out activities ranging from five-minute meeting exercises to year-long positive development projects that engage the whole building, offers e-mail affirmations and reminders that provoke thoughtful discussion, suggests ways to group various activities and materials to create themes and provides a comprehensive schedule to help program leaders put it all together.
Strong Staff, Strong Students also includes a CD-ROM stuffed full of useful materials: a PowerPoint presentation, full-color posters to put up in common areas, cards to put in wallets or on ID lanyards and handouts to distribute through e-mail or in mailboxes. All of these materials are carefully designed to keep the program “top of mind” for all staff, working together to reinforce the positive approach that Strong Staff, Strong Students is based on.
A strong blueprint for enhancing a staff development program and thereby strengthening school and youth programs, Strong Staff, Strong Students is the perfect resource for creating a happy, fulfilled and positive staff.
Angela Jerabek, M.S., has been working in the public school system for the past 17 years, holds a master of science in counseling and is a licensed K–12 teacher. Angela was named a Champion of Health by Blue Cross Blue Shield and received a commendation from the St. Louis Park (Minnesota) Police Department for her work with youth.
Nancy Tellett-Royce is a senior consultant at Search Institute. As director of the Career Center at Macalester College and senior academic advisor at the University of Minnesota, Nancy was responsible for managing staff development activities for her staff members over a period of 14 years.
Book Details:
Title: Strong Staff, Strong Students: Professional Development in Schools and Youth Programs
Authors: Angela Jerabek, M.S., and Nancy Tellett-Royce
Publisher: Search Institute. Distributed by Independent Publishers Group
Publication Date: November 2010
$29.95 (CAN $32.95), Paper, ISBN: 9781574282762, 144 pages, 8½ x 11, includes 8 handouts, 5 full-color posters, 5 full-color wallet cards and PowerPoint presentation on CD-ROM
Available at bookstores everywhere and through Independent Publishers Group, 814 N. Franklin St., Chicago, IL 60610. Toll-free number for orders only: 1-800-888-4741. Visit us online at www.ipgbook.com.
Publicity Contact
Suzy Winther
612-692-5542
suzyw@search-institute.org
