1st Edition

Turning It Around Small Steps or Sweeping Changes to Create the School Your Students Deserve

By Todd Whitaker, Courtney Monterecy Copyright 2025
    200 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    200 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Eye On Education

    What needs to be improved at your school? In this essential new book, Todd Whitaker and Courtney Monterecy provide a clear roadmap to making the changes that will bring lasting benefits to your students and staff, whether those changes are small tweaks or larger overhauls.

    You’ll learn step-by-step ways to diagnose the issues and listen to your staff about what needs to change; to hire more effectively and improve the teachers you have; to implement structures and coaching to address student behavior; and to communicate before you need to. Whitaker and Monterecy also show you how to grow as a leader by making time for what only you can do, by developing other leaders within the building, and by always communicating your why. Each chapter is filled with helpful strategies and inspiring true stories.

    With this book's wisdom and practical takeaways, you will have the courage and know-how to implement the important changes your students truly deserve.

    Part I: Determining Where to Begin  1. Learning from Those Around You  2. How Does Your Building Look and Feel?  3. Structure, Structure, Structure  Part II: It’s All About Your Teachers  4. Getting (and Onboarding) Better Staff  5. Letting Teachers Go and Improving the Ones You Have  6. Coaching Teachers to Handle Student Behavior  7. Implementing Tight and Logical Instructional Time  Part III: Influencing School Culture  8. Communicating Before You Need to  9. Celebrating and Recognizing Your Staff  10. Building Parent and Family Support  Part IV: Leadership Grows Leadership  11. Making Time for What Only You Can Do  12. Building Leadership Inside the Four Walls  Chapter 13. Sharing Your School’s Story  Afterword: Are We There Yet?

    Biography

    Todd Whitaker (@toddwhitaker) is a leading presenter in the field of education and has written more than 60 books including the bestseller What Great Teachers Do Differently. He is a former teacher, coach, principal, and professor of educational leadership.

    Courtney Monterecy is the principal of Mary E. Fogarty Elementary School in Providence, Rhode Island. In 2020, she was named the Rhode Island Elementary School Principal of the Year, and she is a National Distinguished Principal.