Overview

A visionary blueprint for educational reform that envisions school systems as opportunity engines, preparing young citizens for future workplace success, civic engagement, and fulfilling lives. Educating for Purposeful Life documents positive change within the Anaheim Union High School District, whose overarching mission is to prepare high school graduates who possess a clear sense of purpose and the capacity to achieve their goals. Superintendent Michael Matsuda and education consultant David Brazer lay out the district's innovative approaches to organizing, leading, teaching, and learning. They demonstrate how education policy, organization theory, and external partnerships work together within this grades 7–12 district to scaffold student success, resulting in greater high school graduation rates and four-year college matriculation and persistence rates. A rousing account of effective school reform, this work illuminates the district's Career Preparedness Systems Framework, which integrates affective and cognitive development opportunities, trade and professional development programs, and community engagement efforts. Matsuda and Brazer show how this framework, combined with a strengths-based approach that recognizes and affirms students' individual life experiences, helps meet the educational needs of all students, including those from traditionally underserved populations. Presenting secondary education as a means to support democracy, address employability gaps, and elevate student voice and purpose, this thought-provoking work provides ample ideas for how other districts might engage in educating for purposeful life.

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9781682538586

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""Educating for Purposeful Life offers readers an overview of select evidence-based practices and principles that enable school stakeholders to engage in authentic systemic change that has the potential to transform communities. With a particular emphasis on student voice, the pathways of students and their development is not only acknowledged, but also valued and central to shifting the learning environment, climate, experience, and outcomes for students within various school contexts. This book is timely for scholars and practitioners committed to preparing youth for the next stage of their academic trajectories, fostering community and engagement, and supporting students' personal fulfillment while also accelerating generational mobility."" --Frances Contreras, dean and professor, School of Education, University of California, Irvine ""Not only does this book tell the story of the necessary changes that schools must undergo for our students' experiences to improve, but Brazer and Matsuda also provide the details necessary for readers to fulfill their obligation for making change in their owns systems. What's important for me, as a reader, is that the core concepts--systems thinking, human relations, organizational learning, and instructional leadership--are all grounded in solid research and best practices for educational leaders."" --T. J. Vari, assistant superintendent, Appoquinimink School District, and coauthor of Retention for a Change: Motivate, Inspire, and Energize Your School Culture ""When it comes to changing schools, too few books for educators skillfully combine the conceptual with the practical. In Educating for Purposeful Life, Brazer and Matsuda do exactly that. An in-depth near decade-long study of the urban Anaheim (CA) district, describes and analyzes the systemic changes that altered the district's path. School board members, superintendents, and principals who read this book will gain useful theoretical and practical knowledge to guide change in their schools."" --Larry Cuban, professor emeritus of education, Stanford University"

Author Information

S. David Brazer is a former teacher, high school principal, and professor of education leadership. The author of numerous articles and three books, he is currently principal consultant at Brazer Education Consulting, where he engages with schools and districts in leadership development and individual coaching. Michael B. Matsuda is superintendent of the Anaheim Union High School District, an urban public school district with 20 secondary schools for grades 7–12. He is a frequent author of articles and commentaries on the need to transform secondary education from focusing exclusively on college readiness to educating students to be life-ready.

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