Welcome To The Grind: How Educators Achieve Exponential Results - Paperback

by Thomas Tucker (Author), Carolyn Hunter-Rogers (Author), Mark Raiff (Author)

Welcome To The GRIND starts by taking a peek into my unique experiences with Tom Herman, Head Football Coach at The University of Texas. Welcome To The GRIND requires individuals to develop a grit mindset; pay attention to the little things; align goals with winning strategies. At the start of the book, we will examine Coach Herman's dynamic and humble winning formula for "maximizing human talent." {Relationships x Process}=Exponential Results The remainder of Welcome To The GRIND provides a demographically diverse range of testimony from K-12 educators and advocates. These authentic best practices hail directly from nationally recognized superintendents, elite classroom teachers, and nationally acclaimed community advocates. These practitioners share great experiences that occurred in their respective Appalachian, Urban, and Suburban school districts. Welcome To The GRIND will examine the key concepts of what it takes to be considered elite at your craft. The GRIND manifests itself in elite results, which require attainable processes coupled with strong personal relationships. The book will examine: 1. Empowering people, building leadership capacity, and cultivating strong personal relationships. 2. Increasing academic outcomes for ALL. 3. Use of technology in the classroom. 4. The application of strategies for robust community engagement. Welcome To The GRIND details what K-12 EDUCATORS believe works and how winning for students does not happen in one defining moment. Winning occurs when we make a bold choice to improve. This bold choice comes to us every day, often taking place multiple times per day. Welcome To The GRIND provides critical strategies for educators, to move forward and beyond the comfort of the moment. Welcome To The GRIND documents how K-12 schools and educators can take their system in the direction that they envision. Organizations that focus on developing sustainable and exponential results require a keen focus on these three steps: 1. The personalized growth of people. 2. Excitement and energy for the organization's vision. 3. Live the mission on a daily basis. Welcome To The GRIND is a great book for schools, as they examine their instructional practices and organizational culture. The learning comes from the discussions and plans created by educators. This book helps coaches develop strategies to qualify their students for college athletics and life. Community advocates working with schools can use Welcome To The GRIND as a guide for discussion and planning. School districts can use this book to ignite their strategic plan of action. Parents can use this book to expand their knowledge about the K-12 system. Everyone is accountable; hence, Welcome To The GRIND!

Author Biography

Randall G. Sampson (Ph.D.) is the founder Liberty Leadership Development. He has been a teacher and public school administrator, as well as a university professor and national education transformation specialist. Dr. Sampson is nationally acclaimed for his urban, suburban, and rural schools innovation. His philosophy ensures equity and access for students through personalized Blended Learning, Competency-Based, and Student-Centered models. Dr. Sampson honed many of his instructional and leadership skills through the Harvard University Achievement Gap Initiative and through teacher quality research with Harvard University's Ronald F. Ferguson. As a practitioner, Dr. Sampson's analysis of students' performance data provided a national value-add approach to building sustainable learning environments. Dr. Sampson's prior administrative work at Westerville North High School provided opportunities that allowed him to identify gaps in student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. As a result of his Achievement Gap work, Dr. Sampson's previous school district created systemic corrective measures to improve students' learning outcomes. Therefore, the school experienced a 600% increase of African-American students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. Additionally, the school saw a 35% increase of students' AP exam scores rising from 3 to 4.