Second Edition
TRANSFORMING
SCHOOL
CULTURE
How to Overcome Staff Division
Anthony MUHAMMAD
foreword by Richard DuFour & Rebecca DuFour
Copyright © 2009, 2018 by Solution Tree Press
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction of this book in whole or in part in any form.
555 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404
800.733.6786 (toll free) / 812.336.7700
FAX: 812.336.7790
email: [email protected]
Printed in the United States of America
21 20 19 18 17 1 2 3 4 5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Muhammad, Anthony, author.
Title: Transforming school culture : how to overcome staff division / Anthony Muhammad.
Description: Second edition. | Bloomington, IN : Solution Tree Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017013951 | ISBN 9781945349300 (perfect bound)
Subjects: LCSH: Educational leadership. | School environment. | Educational change. | Educational accountability. | School improvement programs.
Classification: LCC LB2805 .M75 2018 | DDC 371.2--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017013951
Solution Tree
Jeffrey C. Jones, CEO
Edmund M. Ackerman, President
Solution Tree Press
President and Publisher: Douglas M. Rife
Editorial Director: Sarah Payne-Mills
Managing Production Editor: Caroline Cascio
Senior Editor: Amy Rubenstein
Copy Editor: Ashante K. Thomas
Proofreader: Elisabeth Abrams
Text and Cover Designer: Abigail Bowen
Editorial Assistants: Jessi Finn and Kendra Slayton
This book is dedicated to every child who has been doubted. To all of the children in housing projects, barrios, cities, and countrysides who feel that life is hopeless, it is not hopeless! If a young man from the north end of Flint, Michigan, can be an educated scholar, the sky is the limit for you. Keep your head held high, and show the world your talent. As long as I have a breath in my body, I will fight for you, but you have to fight for yourself too.
—Anthony Muhammad
Acknowledgments
The acknowledgments for this book could easily be as long as the text. I have been so abundantly blessed, and there are so many people who have helped me grow in my short time here on this earth. First and foremost, I must give praise and all of the credit for anything worthwhile to Almighty God, the creator of all things. He has guided every step I have ever taken and every thought that I have ever produced, and to Him all praise is due.
It is with a heavy heart that I dedicate this book to my mentor and friend, Dr. Richard DuFour, who passed away on February 8, 2017. No one has ever had more influence on me professionally, and very few have influenced me more personally. I was blessed to spend fifteen years witnessing your brilliance and your example. I promise to make you proud and to be a living witness of your influence.
I must acknowledge and thank the love and influence of my grandmother, Emma Roberson-Alexander (Madear), who passed away in 2013. Special thanks to Anna Nelson, my mother, nurturer, and friend. A special, special thanks goes to my beautiful wife, Dronda. I appreciate you showing me the other side of life and for all of your patience, love, and support. Carmen, thanks for giving me the four greatest gifts that a man could ever receive. Rashad, Larry, Jamilah, Shaheed, Ayanna, and Logan, the sun rises and sets on you. There is nothing that I would not do for you. Do not be afraid to take on the world and become what God created you to be. Angie, Lee, Donald, Brandon, and Derek (RIP), thanks for supporting your big brother. Cookie, Wendy, Billie, Peter, Birdie, Ricky, and Lori, thanks for supporting your nephew. Thanks to the entire Harper, Crawford, and Nelson families for your support and love. Thanks to the Gilliam/Hale family for accepting me into your family and giving me love and support. Finally, I would like to give special acknowledgement to my hometown of Flint, Michigan, the greatest place in the world for a young man to grow up. It breaks my heart to see the people and the city that I love suffering because of a lead-poisoned water crisis that they did not create. Every human being deserves to drink and consume clean water, and my hometown is being denied that right. I ask everyone who reads this book to join in the fight for justice for Flint! Wherever life takes me, I will be a Flintstone for life!
From a professional standpoint, I would like to thank the following powerful influences. Again, thank you, Mom, for being a great teacher and a great educational role model. I would like to express special appreciation to Becky DuFour and Robert Eaker; thank you for your guidance and willingness to share your wisdom with me. I would like to thank Luis Cruz, Mike Mattos, Ken Williams, and Sharroky Hollie for being my powerful contemporaries. I would like to express appreciation to Jeff Jones, Donald “Stubby” McLean (former director of Solution Tree Canada), and the entire Solution Tree staff.
Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers:
Nicole Airgood
Principal
Eastwood Elementary School
Sturgis, Michigan
Doug Crowley
Assistant Principal
DeForest Area High School
DeForest, Wisconsin
Abbey Duggins
Assistant Principal
Saluda High School
Saluda, South Carolina
Louis Lim
Vice Principal
Bayview Secondary School
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Ryan Rismiller
Assistant Principal
Harding High School
Marion, Ohio
Table of Contents
by Richard DuFour and Rebecca DuFour