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Table of Contents:
Vol. 1

Table of Contents:
Vol. 2

About Susan Simon

Building a School-
house: Home

Building a Schoolhouse…
Laying the Foundation for Success: Vol.2

By Susan Simon, MA, MED

Chapter Summaries:   Ch. 1 Vision Our vision embodies all that we dream is possible in our lives and in the world. It’s a picture of what we might achieve if we could only become our very best selves. The development and implementation of shared vision within a school requires the common belief that change can be a dynamic and positive process. Vision leads teachers and administrators to create more success in ensuring that all students learn, master skills and discover their innate abilities. Ch. 2 Integrity Integrity is the seed from which a personal life grows and prospers. It’s both a private guide and a public display of what an individual life is all about. Building integrity through knowing self implies that there is an honoring of individuality and uniqueness in each person. This honoring of each person’s unique personality and special talents lies at the heart of the educational process.

Ch. 3 Communication

Communication underlies every educational interaction. It plays a critical role in creating supportive and effective learning and work environments that focus on the job of educating youth. The power of communication to transform people and situations lies in mastering its complexity, which creates the opportunity to change the course of lives.

Ch. 4 Community

Humans need to belong. Others serve as our mirrors for growth, providing critical feedback as we move along our pathway. Each school year allows the student and teacher to re-form community with new players. Classrooms form the most basic, and strongest, level of community within a school. A student’s socialization process grows or flounders through their experience of community.

Ch. 5 Loyalty

Loyalty promotes deeper connections and sharing. Schools are places for loyalty to naturally form because schools are all about connection, with self, with subject, with teachers and with peers. Principals and teachers who wish to institute change in their classrooms and schools must diligently work to create bonds of loyalty throughout the organization.

Ch. 6 Power

Power is most effective when shared. Power is not bestowed with the job title, as is authority, but is earned through building personal interactions, developing mutual respect and demonstrating successful results. An effective principal or teacher tries to develop as many strong leaders within the school and classrooms as possible. A school where everyone is empowered to play a significant role in running the school is a place where students love to learn and teachers love to teach.

Ch. 7 Parental Support

Parents are the first teachers of their children, laying the foundation for later success in school. Students who have involved parents are more likely to succeed in school. Parents serve as valuable resources for educators in learning about their students. The most successful schools have a strong parental involvement component, both in the classrooms and in school governance issues.

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